Posts from — June 2009

Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals, are an assessment tool or questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information to support  individuals in making healthy changes that influence their health and prevent chronic disease.

Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) have four standard elements in workplace settings:
• A Questionnaire
• A Computer Program to Evaluate Health Risk Factors
• Confidential Individual Reports
• Group Summary Report

Employees complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example nourishment practices, height and weight, exercise habits, family history, stress perceptions, smoking history, and work satisfaction. Another important feature to consider is readiness to change questions to determine participation interest. Including wellness screenings such as blood lipids and Blood Pressure (BP) results increases the advantages of an Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment by providing a more accurate health assessment and therefore improving lifestyle choice decisions and program options. Nonetheless, it is important to determine if the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment can be used without including this information.

The health risk questionnaire information is entered into a computer program and an individual confidential report is generated that summarizes health risks as well as information on how to cut risk factors. Individual reports are fully confidential. Depending on the reason for launching the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, it’s valuable to consider the type of report the organization will receive as well. A group report summarizing major risk factors and recommendations for programs to enable in order to cut employee and organization risks provides valuable information for your wellness program.

The Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) can be used to:
• Raise awareness to individual employee’s health status
• Encourage employees to make healthier lifestyle changes
• Coach elevated-risk workers
• Develop Employee Health Promotion Programs based on the identified needs
• Evaluate program effectiveness by comparing Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) completed at set intervals such as yearly.

There are many advantages to considering a part-time or full-time occupational and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty practice that supports for and delivers health and safety programs and services to workers, and worker populations. The practice focuses on promotion and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, treatment of work and non-work related injuries and illnesses, and protection from work related  and environmental risks.

Onsite Heath Professional roles can include: Case management, Counseling, Worksite Wellness Program, Legal and regulatory compliance, Clinical services, and Hazard detection and controls. The American Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Nurses is the national association, www.AAOHN.org. The State Chapter also has a website with information including local chapter information to help you find a contact near you, www.NCAOHN.org.

Health educators are able to design, conduct and evaluate activities that help better the health of all your staff members. They are subject matter experts who may be a important asset regardless your program needs and objectives. They are able to help form a Workplace Wellness Program Committee and implement numerous of its programs and services, for example or depending on the structure and time commitments of your Workplace Wellness Program Committee, they are able to also plan the entire program as well. Integrating the activities of the Committee and/or Workplace Wellness Program consultant services within your operations, including within your safety and occupational health program will support additional advantages!

We are drafting Corporate Health Promotion Programs to help you feel better and maintain your health. In order to plan programs that best meet your needs and interests we would like your ideas! Please take a minute to answer some questions about your interests. Your answers will be combined with those of others’ and reviewed to help plan programs for you. Do not sign your name.

Please complete the survey today and return it to__________. We appreciate your valuable input! Your help is valuable for organizing thriving programs. Return the completed form by _____________.

Rate your interest on a scale of 1 – 3 with one (1) being of little or no interest; two (2) being of some interest and three (3) indicating that you are very interested. Indicate your response by circling or ‘Xing’ the number.

I am interested in:

Participating in wellness programs before work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs after work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs during my lunch break 1 2 3
Adopting healthy eating options to lose weight 1 2 3
Sports nutrition 1 2 3
Healthier cooking 1 2 3
Helping my children eat healthier 1 2 3
Quick, healthy meals for busy lifestyles 1 2 3
Healthy snack options 1 2 3
Learning how to quit smoking 1 2 3
Attending classes to help me quit smoking cigarettes 1 2 3
Stress Mangement skills 1 2 3
Balancing work, family, and personal life 1 2 3
Time upper management skills 1 2 3
Participating in a beginning exercise program 1 2 3
Creating time to exercise for busy people 1 2 3
Getting health information that I can read or watch at home 1 2 3
Learning about cancer prevention 1 2 3
Heart health options 1 2 3
CPR and First Aid 1 2 3
Team sports activities at work 1 2 3
Learning how to stretch 1 2 3
Learning how to improve intake of fruits and vegetables 1 2 3
Parenting Topics (age of children: ) 1 2 3
Onsite exercise classes: walking Yoga aerobic other: 1 2 3
Health evaluation such as Blood Pressure (BP), blood lipids, blood sugar 1 2 3

Program evaluation may be The previous step, but it ought to be planned at the beginning of your efforts!  Assessment helps you identify what parts of the program are working well and what parts need improvement.  Then, based on the evaluation data, adjustments can be made to fine-tune your wellness program.   Adjusting the program based on evaluation data is essential to its continued effectiveness.  

Analyzing your program need not be complicated.  However, it is significant to plan how you will monitor your wellness efforts and determine success during the planning phase or Step 5.  Also keep in mind to evaluate the program based on the objectives you already established during your creating process.  

In order to evaluate your program you need to have a system to document specifics as you go along.  This can be as simple as maintaining file folders on programs that are available, or a computer document with a table or spreadsheet summarizing information collecting.  Consider:

• Program topic and numbers of employees who participated
• The numbers of handouts taken by employees or distributed and on what issues
• The number of participants in a behavior modification program and how many met their goals and objectives as well as how many attended all of the sessions
• Numbers of employees who continued the healthy behavior change following the program?
• Overall employee satisfaction with the program or each topic.  

Depending on your objectives and goals, gather desired data and compare it to previous data gathered during the initial assessment to determine if the objectives and goals were met.  Such data might include

• Absentee rates
• Injury rates
• Health risk factors Insurance expenditures  

Summarize and Report Employee Health Promotion Program Results

Once you have collected all of the evaluation information it needs to be reviewed with the Corporate Wellness Program Committee and summarized.  You will probably have beneficial results and some areas where a change is required or additional focus required for continuous improvement.  This not-so beneficial information can be used to make any required adjustments as well as to plan for next year and is valuable to include in your report.  

It is important to communicate the wellness program results to both upper management and employees.  Consider how upper management usually receives reports on operations and productiveness problems and include the yearly wellness program report in the same format.  At some corporations the reports are made during upper management gatherings using presentation styles such as authority point slides.  At other corporations, graphs and bar charts are the norm or a list of the objectives and the summary outcomes announced.  

No matter the format, it’s significant to convey the outcomes and successes achieved, including any anecdotal stories, as well as areas for improvement.  Be sure to link the outcomes to the company mission and bottom line whenever possible.

Employees desire to receive the same information!  You might use the same communication channels used when informing workers of the wellness program:

• Business newsletters,
• Bulletin boards,
• E-mails  

Also consider celebrating successes and recognizing achievements by:

• Posting pictures from programs
• Highlighting performance stories
• Posting pictures of successes
• Scheduling a celebration
• Recognizing champions  

Armed with data, Employee Health Promotion Program topic preferences and objectives – and a Employee Health Promotion Program Committee rearing to get things done – it is now time to decide how best to take action.  This website provides tools to help you!  You can read about the different types of wellness programs offered by other corporations to get an idea of what might work for your organization.  There are Statewide Resources listed along with national non-profit groups offering resources, and particular examples of resources available on various wellness topics.  In addition, keep looking under Steps to an Effective Program for ideas to get you started!

If your planning phase was properly executed, you should simply have to follow through with the plans you have already made.  

Important Company Health Promotion Program considerations include:

1. Formally Introduce the Worksite Wellness Program and consider policy statements that state the significance of the wellness program.  Examples include a general policy regarding the commitment to employee health and safety as well as specific policies such as No Smoking, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.
2. Communicate Your Program: The best planned program with great wellness programs will not be beneficial if your staff members don’t know about it or do not understand the options or how to participate.  Communicate your wellness program using a variety of methods to ensure the message and “how-to’s” are heard!

   Company Wellness Program Communication Strategies might include:

   • Newsletter articles
   • Postings on the company’s intranet or internet
   • A designated Champion of the program
   • Formal or informal meeting to announce program, “the kick-off”
   • Flyers / pamphlets / brochures / table tents,
   • Bulletin boards / kiosk where all material is promoted or found,
   • Email / phone messages,
   • Mailings or distributions  

3. Use Worksite Wellness Program Incentives:  You’ll be amazed to discover what people will do for a free T-shirt.  Incentives are able to both support and innervate participation among workers.  Consider both formal or corporation incentives/rewards and informal or program rewards/prizes from local resources to reinforce participation in Worksite Wellness Programs. Either way, it’s significant to provide incentives/rewards that are attractive and meaningful to your workers.

   Formal Company Health Promotion Program Incentives:

   • Discounts on employee healthcare insurance premiums or co-pays, or contributions to 401K programs, employee stock options, or other mechanisms.  
   
   Click here for more information on health plan incentive ideas
   
   • gym/Fitness Center discounts or enrollment fee coverage
   • Public transportation vouchers
   • Flexible work time options
   • “Wellness Days” off work  

   Prizes or Informal Company Wellness Program Incentives:

   • Cash – a most effective incentive!
   • Prize incentives/rewards such as gift certificates to healthy restaurants; media player to use while exercising, emergency kits, or any other prizes that would innervate your employees.
   • T-Shirts, water bottles, or other inexpensive rewards

4. Evaluate community resources available to offer some of the wellness services.  The local health department or your company medical care provider may be able to support  you with this information.  There are also vendors throughout the State offering great wellness services for companies.  They are available to assist you when strategizing and find the best options available.

5. Begin your program as planned documenting information and outcomes as you go such as numbers of participants, dates of activities, and any other special details you are tracking.

The Employee Wellness Program Committee must set out a plan for the entire year that outlines accomplishing goals, as well as supports details for marketing and evaluating the program. The plan is the detailed map of what types of programs will be provided, when and where they will be scheduled, how they will be marketed and evaluated, and what the budget is.  It is important to plan your wellness activities based on your goals, as well as the budget since different strategies will provide different outcomes.  For example, if your intention is to broaden awareness on a topic, then distributing handouts or scheduling a one-time education session may be appropriate.  Nonetheless, if your goal is to change behavior, then different strategies may be necessary, such as ongoing weekly meetings and support groups.  Click here to link to Program Design Options for additional ideas.

Workplace Wellness Program Marketing

This is the time to plan your marketing strategies!  How can you market the wellness program and ongoing activities?  No matter how you decide to, market frequently, keep it fresh, and remind workers repeatedly!  Consider having an overall kickoff activity to let everyone know about the wellness program.  Upper Management ought to provide the introduction or invitation so that all workers are cognizant of their support and leadership in the program.

Possible marketing methods:

• Sending email messages, including reminders
• Establish bulletins,
• Putting up bulletin board postings,
• Writing articles,
• Sending letters or
• Mailing special invitations.  

Other Employee Health Promotion Program Considerations:

• Is the Employee Wellness Program promoted to all workers or to a specific group?
• Do you have a Corporate Wellness Program champion (someone who is associated with different groups in the organization, and well respected) who can help in your promotion efforts?
• If your marketing efforts aren’t working, do you have a way to revisit and change your strategy?
• How will you determine success and evaluate your program?  And how will you collect the information needed to evaluate your program?  

Topics most often included in Corporate Wellness Programs:

• Nutrition
• Physical Activity/Exercise
• Tobacco Use Cessation
• Bone Health
• Heart Health
• The Spine
• Stress Reduction
• Chronic Disease Awareness & Prevention
• Self-care; Wise Medical Care Consumer
• Screening Services (BMI, Blood Pressure, bone density, cholesterol, glucose, posture, vision, and other…)
• Ergonomic Assessments
• Health Fairs
• Kids/family Events
• Others subject matters that employees have interest in  

The subject matters and type of Company Health Promotion Program planned depend on the needs and interest, overriding objective and resources available.  Program Design Options   include awareness programs such as pamphlets and/or education sessions, behavior modification programs such as tobacco cessation and weight loss classes, and environmental or organization backing such as no smoking policies or healthy selections in vending machines.  

The programs planned also hinge upon the demographics of your workforce.  If you have a young, healthy workforce, you may want to focus the wellness attention on keeping employees healthy and not need to screen for disease.  Instead you might want to focus on healthy lifestyle behavior such as exercise and good diet to prevent the start of disease.  Click here for more information on strategies for keeping employees well, identifying disease early, or returning employees to work who already have a chronic conditions.

It is also valuable to consider, and plan how you will evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.  The system needs to be established for tracking certain data and recording activities depending on the program goals/objectives.  Step 7 discusses program assessment in more detail.   And Step 6 will launch your program!

A Corporate Health Promotion Program without objectives and goals is somewhat akin to taking a family trip without any planning; you won’t know where you’re going, how to get there, what you want to do once you have arrived, or even whether or not you have arrived!  The trip may end up ok, or it may end up disastrously.  Yet, with a bit of thoughtful planning, you broaden your chances for a successful experience.  Clear objectives and goals are necessitated to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!

Wellness program goals are different from one business to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources.  Nevertheless, well thought out objectives based on your company’s needs assessment will form the foundation of a efficacious wellness program!

Worksite Health Promotion Program Mission Statement

The first consideration is a mission statement for your Corporate Wellness Program. The mission statement is the overall expression of what the Corporate Wellness Program Committee wants to accomplish by implementing a wellness program.  It is important to consider how your Corporate Wellness Program fits in with the company mission statement, contributes to the overall mission and supports the company bottom line.  This will integrate your efforts throughout the company operations.  

Here are some examples of Employee Wellness Program mission statements:

“At XYZ Business, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value.  It is the mission of the Employee Wellness Program to help  in starting Employee Wellness Program services that fosters and upholds that value.”

“It is the mission of the XYZ Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee to develop healthier lifestyle choices to decrease health risk factors, better overall wellbeing, and maintain a productive, active work force.”

Corporate Wellness Program Goals

The goals/objectives further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment.  Depending on the needs assessment, senior staff expectations and employee interests, examples of goals/objectives can include:

The goal(s) of XYZ Corporate Wellness Program in year XXXX is to:  (one or more of the following examples)

• Decrease absenteeism by one day per employee
• Cut down on musculoskeletal injuries by 10%
• Lower unnecessary emergency room visits
• Lower or contain health care costs
• Improve dietary habits of staff members
• Cut down on health risk factors  

Employee Health Promotion Program Objectives

Specific Corporate Wellness Program objectives help meet your long-term goals/objectives.  Both short term and long term objectives should be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals/objectives.  In addition to objectives for the expected attendant outcomes, process objectives should also be developed for the program process itself.  By way of example, process objectives may include the number of employees you want to take part in the programs, the number of sessions on a topic will be offered, the type of wellness sessions that will be implemented, etc.

Objectives must be easily measurable within a set time frame.  Try using the SMART formula to establish both your long and short-term goals/objectives:

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)
• Measurable (one result that can be observed or evaluated),
• Attainable (but also challenging),
• Realistic (do you have the resources to achieve?), and
• Time specific (within 3 months – up to 5 years)  

This is the who, what, when, where, why, and by how much method.  By way of example, the mission for a weight loss program that has an overriding objective of improving healthy eating and promoting a healthy weight is that:

Members (who) will lose an average of .5 – 1 lbs per week (specific what that is measurable) at the end of the 12 week lunchtime program (time specific what, when and where) for a minimum of 6 lbs weight loss per colleague (attainable and realistic).

Or:

Participants (who) will go to 11 of the 12 sessions (specific what that is measurable) and name at least one healthier eating change at the end of the program (specific what, when, where)

An example of the mission for coaching employees with high cholesterol might be:

To decrease the total cholesterol (specific what) of high risk workers with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions provided at the worksite (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic & time specific when) to decrease the risk factor for heart disease (why).  

And one last example of a process objective for a smoking cessation program with an overall intention to assist  participants in committing to quit for life:

By the end of the 4-week tobacco cessation program, ten% of the participants will have quit smoking.  Each colleague will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the program’s end to determine quit status (process intention) and ten% of those who quit will still be tobacco-free after one year.

You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including adopting your Workplace Wellness Program Committee.  It is now time to plan your wellness activities!

Prior to you start planning your Corporate Health Promotion Program you need to know where you are now and then decide where you want to go.  Attaining a thorough needs assessment is vital to the effectiveness of your wellness program for two reasons:  First it ensures that your Corporate Health Promotion Program activities will be targeted to meet your company’s specific needs so that outcomes have the potential to be achieved.  Secondly the needs assessment provides the information you will need to evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.

It is often tempting to hurry through the assessment – especially when time is limited or those with experience already have an idea of needs.  Do not give in to this temptation!  It is essential that you know what your employer needs are, what upper management expects, and what employees want as well as expect, before you create a Employee Wellness Program.  

Consider and accumulate data on:

• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Medical Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Rates of Absenteeism
• Employer Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Upper Management’s expectations or desired outcomes

There are many ways to assess this information.  Although some of data gathering process may be time consuming, remember that it is nonetheless important to plan programs that target specific issues.  This information will be critical to set goals and objectives and for evaluating program success.  How else can you know if outcomes have been achieved?

Options to help gather the information:

• Confidential Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) with a Employer Group Summary Report
• Wellness Screenings such as cholesterol, Blood Pressure and blood glucose click here for additional information on wellness screenings.
• Employee Needs and Interest Surveys
• Suggestion boxes placed around the organization
• Focus Groups or hosting a luncheon meeting as a focus group
• Sending out a confidential email questionnaire
• Review records and databases including OSHA logs, first aid reports, insurance expenditures  

Once your needs assessment is complete, the Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee can review the outcome and start drafting and prioritizing program options.  Creating should be based upon objectives and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!

Organizing an active Employee Wellness Program Committee provides opportunities for both management and employee participation in the program.  The Wellness Committee ought to be a team of staff members and managers who formally meet to plan activities to promote healthier employee lifestyles.

Typical Functions of a Corporate Wellness Program Committee:

• Reviewing needs & interests
• Brainstorming program ideas
• Beginning activities
• Creating communication plans
• Promoting programs to co-employees
• Serving as champions of the Worksite Wellness Programs
• Assisting with assessment  

Your Corporate Wellness Program Committee ought to be representative of all levels of the employer.  Consider all areas of the workforce – multiple sites, shift staff members, diversity (race, gender, ethnicity), and departments.   It’s also valuable to consider who will chair or co-chair the Corporate Wellness Program Committee and whether or not there are the finances to support a Corporate Wellness Program manager or occupational health professional, even on a part-time or contractual basis.  Click here for more information on the benefits of a health professional.  

Depending on your business size and resources, if you already have a business Safety Committee you might want to consider making it the Safety & Company Wellness Program Committee.  You have the potential to request volunteers or invite workers to take part.  

The number of Employee Wellness Program Committee members depends on the size of your business; however, you need enough members to get the work done and yet not too many to keep it manageable, usually at least 4 members and maximum of 12 to 15 members.  It’s important to include skeptics of wellness as well and not just those staff members already practicing healthy lifestyles.  

Depending on your worksite, consider representatives from the following areas:

• Employee representatives from a cross section of different departments,
• Senior Leadership
• Health and safety consultant(s),
• Human resources professional(s),
• Employee benefits representative or someone from finance,
• Your Employee Assistance Program provider (if applicable), Click here for more information on EAPs
• Occupational health employee (if applicable).

Establish an effective Employee Health Promotion Program Committee!  The Employee Health Promotion Program Committee ought to meet often with a planned agenda and action items.  Successful Wellness Committees have a shared mission, vision and goals/objectives.  Participants must believe that their participation is worthwhile and appreciated, that their work is significant, benefits the organization and co-employees, and they are appreciated for their contributions. Refer to the NC Workplace Programs section for examples of what other organizations have implemented.

As with any program, the two key components for the performance of your wellness program are senior staff support & employee involvement.  Upper Management sets the vision and supports the resources from which action plans flow.  Genuine support from senior personnel also lends credibility to the wellness initiative.  It is key that senior staff be visible supporters and role models for your Workplace Wellness Program.

workers need to be involved on several echelons so that they feel ownership of the wellness program.  Staff Members are the program stakeholders!  All workers must have an opportunity to offer input and feedback through needs & interest surveys and program evaluation tools.  The information gathered must be used to plan programs that target those needs and interests to ensure participation, buy-in, and backing.

There are several methods to identify employee needs and interests such as:

• Holding Employee Focus Groups
• Examining Wellness Interests During Department meetings
• Distributing and Summarizing a Needs & Interest Survey
• (Including|Allowing for|Making sure to include} a Time to Give Suggestions on Each Evaluation Tool  

Any one or combination of several techniques will be sure that the wellness program meets what employees want.

Step 3 supplies additional information on determining wellness program needs.  But first, implementing a Worksite Wellness Program Committee can help you involve upper management & employees, determine need, and plan your wellness program.