Stress continues to drive workers’ work-related health concerns, which is probably why the majority of respondents (78%) in a recently published survey claim they would take part in a Corporate Health Promotion Plan to help their overall health and wellness.

In a recently published research study commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. (AAOHN), 500 full-time workers nationwide were interviewed telephonically.

“Today’s workers are clearly dealing with a lot of pressures such as the effects of 9/11, an unstable economy, national security threats and work/balance issues. There is a real opportunity for corporations to serve as an ally to their workers by providing them with resources to better manage their physical and emotional health – anything from stress management lunch and learns to nutrition and physical fitness counseling,” says Deborah V. DiBenedetto, president of AAOHN.

Nearly 80% of respondents believe their health would improve if they were offered the right information and tools through a viable Corporate Health Promotion Program.

Topping the list of most interesting Corporate Health Promotion Programs cited by workers is stress management (85%), closely followed by testing initiatives (84%), exercise/physical fitness initiatives (84%), health insurance education (81%) and disease management lunch and learns (80%).

More than half of workers (61%) would rather receive health and wellness information from a health care consultant or worksite nurse, compared to pamphlets or brochures (18%) or human resources staff (15%).

Keeping the bottom line up front Bottom Line Up Front in Corporate Health Promotion Plan will help you get and sustain Senior Management support. A Bottom Line Up Front approach will also help you more realistically measure the impact of your Corporate Health Promotion Program.

The bottom line in Corporate Health Promotion Programs answer two primary questions:
• How will member health be enhanced?
• What’s in it for Senior Management?

The ultimate bottom line: all roads should lead to readiness.
• Always be ready to communicate to leadership the ways that your Corporate Health Promotion Plan impacts readiness.
• Think like Senior Management: what Corporate Health Promotion Plan outcomes will be important from a Senior Management point of view?
• Develop line-centered language that communicates those outcomes.
• Ask members how they think a particular Corporate Health Promotion Plan enhances force readiness. This input is a valuable source of information.

Use the following steps as a Bottom Line Up Front approach to Corporate Health Promotion Programs.

Step 1: Think about the end of the Corporate Health Promotion Plan first and plan backwards.
• It has been said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”
• Before planning or starting any part of the Corporate Health Promotion Program, be able to answer the questions: how will member health be enhanced? What’s in it for Senior Management?

Step 2: Identify concrete Corporate Health Promotion Plan outcomes.
• Identify up front what the Corporate Health Promotion Plan is working towards.
o For example: will members lose weight? Walk more steps? Decrease injuries? Move to another stage of change?
• Identify any processes or procedures that will be enhanced.
o For example: which pharmacy operations will become more efficient? How will record-keeping be streamlined?

Step 3: Determine what will be measured to show that Corporate Health Promotion Plan goals were achieved.
• Look at what information is really needed to show Corporate Health Promotion Plan effectiveness. Avoid the temptation to collect every possible piece of data. Choose a handful of important information points and stick to those.
• Think backwards when determining what information to collect – consider how easily follow-up information can be collected when a Corporate Health Promotion Plan ends. Getting follow-up information is frequently a challenge.
• Only collect information for health behaviors or indicators that the Corporate Health Promotion Plan actually affected.
o For example: if the main Corporate Health Promotion Plan goal is that members will walk more steps, then it may be better NOT to choose changes in cholesterol level as a Corporate Health Promotion Plan outcome (unless the Corporate Health Promotion Plan specifically addresses cholesterol).
• Avoid measuring outcomes that the Corporate Health Promotion Plan cannot (or did not) affect.

Step 4: Determine what Corporate Health Promotion Plan elements must be included to move members towards the Corporate Health Promotion Plan goals.
• The concrete Corporate Health Promotion Plan outcomes identified in Step 2 are the compass for keeping the Corporate Health Promotion Plan on track. All Corporate Health Promotion Plan elements should lead towards that ultimate goal.

Working backwards when planning and starting Corporate Health Promotion Programs is really forward thinking. Keeping the bottom line up front is a smart approach to Corporate Health Promotion Programs.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs at the corporate level are beneficial, right? Wellness statistics clearly show that such Corporate Health Promotion Programs are not only cost-effective to the organization but can assist the worker in developing a healthier lifestyle. With the increasing cost of health care, Corporate Health Promotion Programs simply make sense. So where does the problem come in? Let’s examine the topic from both perspectives.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: The Good
• A sampling of return on investment (ROI) for Corporate Health Promotion Programs: Bank of America: 600 percent; General Motors:370 percent; Pepsico: 300 percent; Citibank: 465 percent; and the Washoe County School District leading the pack at a whopping 1,560%. (Campbell,J., Wellness Improvement Experts, www.wellnessimprovementexperts.com, Albuquerque, New Mexico.)
• Companies with Corporate Health Promotion Programs have found a 28% reduction in sick leave, a 26% reduction in adjunctive health care costs and a 30% reduction in disability and workers compensation costs. (Health Affairs, Volume 21, No.2, March, 2002.)
• The Washoe county School District in Northern Nevada found a $15.60 return on investment (ROI) for every dollar spent due to a 20% reduction in rates of absence. (Hardy,A. (2005). At the Top Of The Class. WELCOA’s Absolute Advantage Magazine, 5(1), 14-20.)
• Corporate Health Promotion Programs provide the structure, encouragement, incentives and ongoing support that many individuals need in order to make lifestyle changes.
• Employees also realize returns on their efforts. FiServ, a financial services technology organization, gave workers who filled out a health risk assessment a significant discount on their health insurance premium. (Holland, Kelley, The New York Times, July 22, 2007.)

Corporate Health Promotion Programs: The Bad
The flip side of the argument centers on basic human rights. Do we want/need our employer to tell us to eat our veggies or lose 30 pounds? Some corporations are doing just that and at least one lawsuit has resulted because of it.
• Three hundred corporations have requested assistance from a national employment and labor law firm to institute more aggressive Corporate Health Promotion Programs.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)
• Clarian Health, based in Indianapolis, Will start decreasing worker paychecks by $10.00 for every worker who has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 29.9 because not enough workers were utilizing their wellness services.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)
• Scott Rodrigues filed a suit against his prospective employer, Scotts Miracle-Gro, because he believed the organization’s antitobacco use policy violated his civil rights. The organization has a policy against hiring workers who smoke and Mr. Rodrigues’drug screen was positive for nicotine.(Holland, Kelley, The New York Times,July 22,2007.)
• worker advocates are concerned that health discrimination may not be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)

Penalizing workers by hitting them where it hurts the most, in their pocketbook, does not appear to be a favorable approach to molding human behavior.
Such tactics may result in raised resentments and retaliation, primarily in the form of rates of absence and presenteeism (decreased productivity on the job.) Voluntary, incentive-based initiatives, such as the one in the Washoe County School District, can and do produce results. A positive attitude on the part of management along with an opportunity for workers to have a stake in the decision-making may yield the greatest dividends to both employer and worker.The motivation and resolve needed to change unhealthy lifestyle habits can best be derived from the basic tenets of encouragement, respect and support.

Flu Shot Facts & Myths

Myth: The flu isn’t a serious disease.
Fact: Influenza (flu) is a serious disease of the nose, throat, and lungs, and it can lead to pneumonia. Annually about 200,000 employees in the U.S. are hospitalized and about 36,000 employees die because of the flu. Most who die are 65 years and older. But small children less than 2 years old are as likely as those over 65 to have to go to the hospital because of the flu.

Myth: The flu shot can cause the flu.
Fact: The flu shot cannot cause the flu. Some employees get a little soreness or redness where they get the shot. It goes away in a day or two. Serious problems from the flu shot are very rare.

Myth: The flu shot does not work.
Fact: The majority of of the time the flu shot will prevent the flu. In scientific studies, the effectiveness of the flu shot has ranged from 70% to 90% when there is a good match between circulating viruses and those in the vaccine. Getting the vaccine is your best protection against this disease.

Myth: The side effects are worse than the flu.
Fact: The worst side effect you’re likely to get from a flu shot is a sore arm. The nasal mist flu vaccine might cause nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat and cough. The risk of a severe allergic reaction is less than 1 in 4 million.

Myth: Only older employees need a flu vaccine.
Fact: Adults and children with conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease need to get a flu shot. Doctors also recommend children 6 months and older get a flu shot every year until their 5th birthday.

Myth: You must get the flu vaccine before December.
Fact: Flu vaccine can be given before or during the flu season. The best time to get vaccinated is October or November. But you can get vaccinated in December or later.

For more information, ask your health care provider or call 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636). You can also get more information about flu shots by visiting the following Website: www.cdc.gov/flu

Source: The Department of Health and Human ServicesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

Advantages of Corporate Health Promotion Programs: Easy to Find

Employer’s are learning that Corporate Health Promotion Programs is an effective way to increase productivity, improve worker health, lower health care costs and reduce rates of absence.

A report published in 2003 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted how important it is for corporations to incorporate Corporate Health Promotion Programs as part of their corporate strategy. The report asserts that chronic diseases which are largely preventable place a heavy toll on organization, including lower productivity and higher health insurance costs.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that $1.66 trillion was spent on health care in 2003 and it attributes a majority of those costs to chronic diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and asthma. Sadly, the money allocated for preventing or controlling these conditions is negligible.

In a recently published article, American Cancer Society CEO John Seffrin reported two thirds of cancer deaths in the United States could be prevented through lifestyle changes in diet, physical fitness, cancer testing and “especially” tobacco use. A well-designed Corporate Health Promotion Programs initiative serves the best interests of workers and corporations alike.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Return On Investment (ROI)

Ron Goetzel, a nationally recognized expert in the science of health management, information analysis and applied research, said in a recently published interview that with an investment of $100 to $150 per worker per year in Corporate Health Promotion Programs, an employer can expect an average return on investment (ROI) of approximately $3 for every $1
invested ($300 to $450 savings per worker per year). Goetzel says, however, that these returns are not typically found until two to three years into the Corporate Health Promotion Program.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Tax Breaks

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has been an outspoken proponent in seeking legislative solutions for a strained health care system.

“As a nation, we have a ‘sick care’ system that is focused on helping employees after they get sick, rather than a ‘health care’ system which focuses on keeping healthy employees healthy,” he says.

Harkin introduced the Healthy Lifestyle and Prevention (HeLP) America Act of 2004. One of the initiatives under Title II – Healthier Communities and Workplaces, provides tax credits to corporations that offer broad-based programs to promote worker health and grants for small organization.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Getting Started

Implementing a Corporate Health Promotion Programs can be accomplished with simple, low-cost strategies.

• Provide incentives for participation.
• Establish a wellness informational campaign.
• Schedule wellness seminars on diabetes, nutrition, physical fitness and cholesterol.
• Establish initiatives such as fitness, sleep diary, tobacco use cessation and injury prevention.
• Provide onsite chair massages or simple stretching exercises to do at the desk.
• Change snack machine options to offer healthier, low-fat snacks and drinks.
• Actively promote worker par

Worksites do not exist in a vacuum. They are part and parcel of the community in which they are located. Successful corporate administrators are cognizant of the need for positive community relations and should do what is necessary to promote good will. What better way to bridge relationships than by utilizing existing community Corporate Health Promotion Plan services and initiatives whenever possible (e.g., voluntary, private and public health agencies) and providing health related services back to the community. Since the community is also the home of the worker, an effective mode of health promotion is through programming directed at the larger community. Sponsorship of community related health fairs is one example more are listed below.

• Encourages worker/employer involvement in the community
Blood drives
Sponsorship of fund raising for community schools and social services
Community recycling initiatives
Youth league sports sponsorship
Job training initiatives
• Media and public relations initiatives advertising a healthy organization image
• organization newsletters and press releases on health issues to local media
• Environmentally sound use of waste disposal and community resources

At times Corporate Health Promotion Programs have been instituted as public relations vehicles intended to enhance the corporate image with little concern for improvements in worker health. Companies who are truly committed to enhancing worker health and wellness, are corporations who have worked to include Corporate Health Promotion Programs into the organization’s mission statement. With this commitment, policies and procedures can be written to address short and long term goals of raised worker health, productivity, and morale. These policies and procedures are critical to the establishment of supportive organizational cultures conducive to worker health and wellness.

• Active worker involvement in Corporate Health Promotion Plan committees and organization decision making
• Availability of flextime work schedules
• No tobacco use policy
• Drug use policy and screening
• Motor vehicle seatbelts and the use of other protective/safety equipment
• Sexual harassment policy
• Family leave initiatives
• Consistent and frequent awards and recognition of worker work efforts

The environmental conditions of the worksite can be divided into both physical and psychosocial domains, both of which influence the climate and culture of a worksite. The cultural norms of a worksite have been identified as powerful determinants of worker health and behavior (Baum, 1995). Ultimately, workers benefit most from a healthy, supportive; eustressful worksite community was they feel valued and respected. Since adults spend approximately one third of their waking hours at work, one would hope that workers view work as less of a necessity and more of an enjoyable experience.

The climate of a worksite is also more conducive to enhancing health and human performance when the environment is safe, clean, aesthetically pleasing and ergonomically engineered. While some occupations maybe inherently dangerous (e.g., fire fighter, military personnel) all broad-based Corporate Health Promotion Programs should control exposure to unhealthy conditions including: hazardous chemicals, noise, temperature, radiation and other risky conditions. Program examples include:

• Corporate Health Promotion Programs grounded in supportive cultural change strategies
• Environmental and safety compliance measures
Lighting
Ventilation
Heating
Control of toxic substances
Noise
Universal precautions
• Ergonomically designed workstations
• Sanitary, clean, well maintained worksite
• Recycling promoted initiatives
• worker & management training in emergency procedures

An worker’s psychological health can never be neglected in a broad-based model of Corporate Health Promotion Programs. Originating out of a need for alcohol abuse interventions in the worksite, today’s employee assistance programs (EAP) encompass assessment and counseling for substance abuse and dependency, stress related disorders, family conflicts and other personal issues.

Evidence of the need for such initiatives is wide spread. In a national survey conducted by the Northwestern Life Insurance Company (1992) 46% of workers reported that their job was very stressful, 34% thought about quitting their jobs because of worksite stress, and 14% did leave their job because of stress. Alcohol and substance abuse problems and issues of worksite violence and harassment are common areas of concern. For many the only viable treatment solution is the Corporate Health Promotion Program. Exemplary Corporate Health Promotion Programs will include:

• Personalized assessment of worker concerns
• Treatment choice assistance
• Emphasis on prevention and treatment
• Personal and family counseling initiatives
• Treatment for addictions:
Drugs
Alcohol
Gambling
• Crisis intervention initiatives
• Stress management
• Ongoing support groups
• Management and worker training to identify individuals at risk.
• After treatment care

Small and large corporations carry a significant proportion of the provision of health care for families in this country by providing health care insurance for their workers. With the escalating increase in health care cost many corporations are attempting to slow the increase of health care insurance premiums by providing innovative cost control initiatives. Greater emphasis is being put on primary prevention to keep workers healthy and secondary prevention to identify and treat health conditions before they can become serious.

At some workplaces, workers are being encouraged to take greater responsibility for their health related behaviors through risk rated incentive packages. Linking wellness to worker benefits of gain sharing and co-payment cost reductions will provide new opportunities requiring efforts of collaboration between the human resource managers and the Corporate Health Promotion Plan specialists. These two sets of experts may also work together for the ongoing evaluation of cost effective Corporate Health Promotion Programs.

In conjunction with the above initiatives the majority of large corporations also have a nurse or physician on staff to dispense worksite medical and preventive care. Some initiatives have also found it cost effective to provide their own physical therapy programming to assist injured and infirm workers in regaining optimal functioning. A broad-based selection of health related worker services and benefits would include the following:

• Free or low cost health screenings provided on site by organization clinical personnel or through outside contractors:
Serum cholesterol
Colorectal cancer testing
Blood pressure testing
Mammography
Vision and hearing testing
Diabetes
• Referral and follow-up procedures (e.g., Hypertension, Cholesterol, Cancer)
• Provision of first aid and emergency care
• Disease control and prevention initiatives
• Onsite Child and adult care services
• Pre-retirement and financial planning
• Ongoing learning/educational opportunities
• Coordination of organization picnics and outings
• Parent-child work visitation initiatives
• Workers compensation/rehabilitation