Health Handouts : What is a Company Health Promotion Program?

According to the American Journal of Health Promotion, “Health promotion is the science and art of helping people change their lifestyle to move toward a state of good health. Optimal health is defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health. Lifestyle modification can be facilitated through a combination of efforts to enhance awareness, change behavior, and set up environments that support great health practices. Of the three, supportive environments will probably have the greatest influence in producing lasting change.”

Company Wellness Program: Action Steps

The process of assembling a Company Health Promotion Program involves:

• Identifying the current health status of your staff members
• Determining the appropriate programs and interventions to offer
• Promoting and implementing the programs
• Building in motivational incentives/rewards
• Measuring the effect
• Revising programs based on evaluation outcomes

It may even include beginning policies and procedures that support employee participation in wellness activities at your workplace (such as flextime).

Steps to Starting a Corporate Wellness Program

• Conduct an company assessment
• Obtain upper management support
• Establish a Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee
• Obtain employee input
• Develop goals and objectives
• Design and implement program activities
• Choose rewards and incentives
• Evaluate outcomes

One of the ways the government plans to better the nation’s health is through accross the board Workplace Wellness Programs. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, these programs may help employees live healthier lifestyles by creating supportive work environments and offering awareness, education and behavior change programs. In fact, one of the goals of Healthy People 2010, a set of health objectives for the nation to achieve by the year 2010, is to increase the proportion of employees that take part in a accross the board Workplace Wellness Program at their workplace to 75 percent.