Wellness Articles

Advantages of Fitness Initiatives

Exercise reduces weight, lowers risks of heart attack and stroke, helps to control blood pressure and diabetes, and improves mood. Studies increasingly show that physical fitness may also help reduce the occurrence of certain types of cancer. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently documented another major advantage: physical fitness improves the health of the nation’s medical care expenditures.3 According to the CDC, physically active individuals incur $865 less per year in medical costs than inactive individuals.

Dr. Michael Moore, vice president and chief medical director at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, maintains that physical fitness is the most effective tool in health maintenance. “If you could prescribe exercise in a pill, it would be the number-one prescribed treatment in the world,” he said. In step with Dr. Moore’s prescription, nearly one-third of U.S. businesses help staff members pay for gym memberships, according to an Associated Press report. Subsidizing gym memberships is just one way companies encourage active lifestyles.

Popular Fitness Initiatives:

1. Allow access to on- and off- worksite gyms and recreational activities before, during, and after work hours.
2. Provide and encourage participation in after work recreation or leagues.
3. Provide cash incentives or decreased insurance costs for participation in physical activity and/or weight management or maintenance activities.
4. Provide shower and/or changing facilities onsite.
5. Provide outdoor physical fitness areas such as fields and trails for worker use.
6. Provide bicycle racks in safe, convenient, and accessible locations.
7. Provide onsite fitness opportunities, such as group classes or personal training.
8. Provide an onsite physical fitness facility.
9. Set up programs that have strong social support systems and incentives, such as:
• Buddy or team physical activity goals
• Initiatives that involve workers and family
• Initiatives to encourage physical activity, such as pedometer walking challenges
• Explore discounted or subsidized memberships at local health clubs, recreation centers, or YMCAs
10. Provide flexible work hours to allow for physical activity during the day.
11. Support physical activity breaks during the workday, such as stretching or walking.
12. Host walk-and-talk meetings.
13. Map out onsite trails or nearby walking routes and destinations.
14. Have staff members map out their own biking or walking route to and from work.
15. Post motivational signs at elevators and escalators to encourage stair usage.
16. Provide exercise/physical fitness messages and information to staff members.
17. Provide or support recreation leagues and other physical activity events onsite or in the community.
18. Begin worker activity clubs such as walking or bicycling clubs.
19. Provide onsite child care facilities to facilitate physical activity.
20. Sponsor a bike to work day and reward staff members who participate.
21. Set up a box and solicit fitness and health tips.

Wellness programming means different things to different companies. Effective wellness initiatives can be as simple as bringing bushel baskets of fresh fruit into break rooms to encourage better eating. They can be as extensive as building fitness facilities onsite or paying for obesity treatments.

A driving factor behind the push toward wellness spans companies of all types, sizes and cultures: that is, health care expenses are spilling over the corporate belt buckle. The annual cost of medical services in the United States is rising at seven times the rate of inflation. And the rise in medical costs is one boom pundits expect our economy to sustain.1

This trend makes it increasingly challenging for employers to maintain current levels of insurance coverage. In 2003, health care inflation forced 65% of companies to increase staff members’ share of health costs.

Seventy-nine% of large firms said they will increase workers’ share of health costs in 2004.2 But with lost benefits and increased financial burdens come lost morale and productivity.

Employers are searching for another way. While companies cannot control many of the supply-side elements contributing to rising health care costs—malpractice insurance rates, the nursing shortage—they can help curb demand. That’s why efforts are being redirected from illness to wellness.

The case for Employee Health and Wellness Programs is supported by an ever growing body of evidence demonstrating the high costs associated with controllable health risks:

• One study reports that obesity raises health care costs by 36% and medication costs by 77%.
• Michigan officials estimate physical inactivity cost the state nearly $8.9 billion in 2002, a cost estimated to be largely borne by employers through insurance premiums and lost productivity.
• The not-for-profit National Committee for Quality Assurance reports that the estimated average cost for postnatal care for women who did not receive prenatal care was $2,341 more than for women who had. And the indirect costs of unhealthful behavior can be just as high.

Information shows that healthier staff members are more productive, spending more time at work and showing increased “presenteeism,” or productivity, while there. Further, healthier staff members use fewer medical services. The five leading causes of death in the United States — heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes — are directly linked to unhealthy lifestyles. Clearly, encouraging healthful habits presents an opportunity to improve staff members’ well being, reduce the need for health care services and help control costs.

Offering worker wellness benefits — large or small — represents an intersection between corporate social responsibility and responsibility to stakeholders. Between worker health and corporate health. It’s frequently the right thing to do for staff members and employers.

Research by Traveler’s Corp. shows a $3.40 return for every dollar invested in Employee Health and Wellness Programs. For many companies, the choice to offer worker wellness benefits is easy—one where conscience and pragmatism align.

The challenge arises in selecting the programs that will deliver the most impact based on trends in your staff members’ health risks and medical claims costs. From large companies to the corner deli, business owners welcome ways to boost productivity, reduce rates of absence and cut costs. Likewise, Employee Health and Wellness Programs can range from modest to elaborate.

In deciding where to focus a business’s limited resources, looking at costs, benefits and best practices is a good starting point. This section profiles six aspects of wellness and explores their benefits to staff members and employers.

Stress continues to drive staff members’ work-related health concerns, which is probably why most respondents (78%) in a recent survey claim they would participate in a Employee Health and Wellness Program to help their overall health and wellness.

In a recent study commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. (AAOHN), 500 full-time staff members nationwide were interviewed by telephone.

“Today’s staff members 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 employers to serve as an ally to their staff members by providing them with resources to better manage their physical and emotional health - anything from stress management seminars 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program.

Topping the list of most interesting Employee Health and Wellness Programs cited by staff members is stress management (85%), closely followed by testing programs (84%), exercise/physical fitness programs (84%), health insurance education (81%) and disease management seminars (80%).

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

Effective Employee Health and Wellness Programs include the use of data sources in support of Employee Health and Wellness Program planning, implementation, and evaluation. Information sources can be used to complete a community needs assessment, develop realistic Employee Health and Wellness Program goals and objectives, and gain Senior Management support.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Information and statistics
• http://www.cdc.gov/DataStatistics/
• Information and statistics are available by topic (i.e., asthma, injuries, MRSA).
• Information access tools are available to customize data tables and query datasets (i.e., Healthy People DATA2010, smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs).
• Nationwide survey data is available (i.e., National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)).

CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
• http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.htm
• BRFSS is the world’s largest, ongoing telephone health survey system. BRFSS has been tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the US yearly since 1984.
• Chronic Disease Indicators are divided into seven categories: physical activity and nutrition, tobacco and alcohol use, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, overarching conditions, and other disease and risk factors.
• Prevalence data is also available (i.e., weight classification by Body Mass Index and age).

Employee Health and Wellness Program data collection and analysis is frequently avoided because of a perceived lack of resources for this very important Employee Health and Wellness Program component. Use the suggestions below to take advantage of a variety of resources available at your installation or in the local community.

Medical Interns and Residents
• If your Medical Center has an internship Employee Health and Wellness Program, get to know the Internship Director.
• Take advantage of these resources – including having the Director and/or interns/residents implement the outcome data collection plan for your Employee Health and Wellness Program.

Local college and graduate students
• Where appropriate volunteer agreements are in place, use local college/graduate students to help collect, input, and analyze Employee Health and Wellness Program data.
• Take advantage of the fact that these students are frequently looking for projects.
• If there are no “health-related” students/interns in your area, consider using business students. Let them calculate a cost avoidance or return on investment for your Employee Health and Wellness Program.

Other Medical Personnel
• Partner with other Medical Personnel. Find out who is collecting data, what data they are collecting, and how they are collecting it.
• If they are using a survey and the survey administration process is already in place, ask if you can add a question or two.
• Be aware of other research going on at your facility. They may already be collecting data you need OR may have analysis resources that can be shared.
• Ensure that other departments in the Medical center know you can always use some extra help if they have personnel with any down time. Use these resources for data entry or other administrative tasks.
• Make use of the volunteers at your Medical Treatment Facility to help collect and input data.

Past Employee Health and Wellness Program members
• Past Employee Health and Wellness Program members are also a good resource.
• They may be willing to lead a class session, provide encouragement to current Employee Health and Wellness Program members, or help collect data.
You can improve data collection and analysis by taking advantage of local resources. Using these resources expands the reach and impact of your Employee Health and Wellness Program.

Keeping Employee Health and Wellness Program data organized is essential in order to be able to determine Employee Health and Wellness Program impact and participant progress. Use the simple steps below to keep your data organized.

Manage Employee Health and Wellness Program data electronically.
• Storing Employee Health and Wellness Program outcomes data electronically is the best way to manage that information.
• An electronic system will enable you to review and analyze the data more efficiently.
• Scan old surveys and other Employee Health and Wellness Program information that exist only on paper into .pdf format for permanent storage.

Find the Employee Health and Wellness Program system that works best for you.
• Some individuals are more comfortable with spreadsheet applications; others prefer to work with database applications.
• You will be more likely to use a Employee Health and Wellness Program that you are familiar and/or comfortable with.
• Standardize data collection and organization. Keep data columns/fields in the same order for all Employee Health and Wellness Programs.

Keep the Employee Health and Wellness Program as simple as possible.
• You do not have to be a Wellness Programming wizard or use complicated data entry interfaces in order to manage Employee Health and Wellness Program outcomes data.
• A simple spreadsheet is an excellent way to keep your data organized.

Store all Employee Health and Wellness Program data numerically.
• Using numbers (instead of words) will make the data much easier to enter and analyze. For example: use “1” for yes; “0” for no OR “1” for male; “2” for female.
• Number survey responses that contain strings of words. For example: instead of entering the responses: “patient education videos”, “news,” or “no TV,” number the responses so you only have to enter “1,” “2,” or “3.”

Label all Employee Health and Wellness Program data clearly.
• Ensure that all the data columns, rows, or fields are labeled. The data is worthless if you don’t know what data is in which column.
• The spreadsheet/database should include an explanation for column, row, field, and data abbreviations and a key for numbered responses.

Use consistent Employee Health and Wellness Program data units.
• Ensure that all data entered into a given column is expressed with the same unit of measure. For example, enter all heights as total inches, not as a combination of feet and inches.
Putting your data in order by using a simple system that works for you will enable you to track participant accomplishments. Keeping your data organized also makes it easier to communicate Employee Health and Wellness Program impact to leadership and make Employee Health and Wellness Program improvements as needed.

A gap analysis is an assessment tool that enables a business to compare its current capabilities and performance with industry benchmarks and expectations for performance. A gap analysis is used to identify areas that have room for improvement.

Gap analysis can also be used for your Employee Health and Wellness Program to determine where the program stands now and how the Employee Health and Wellness Program can better follow evidence-based recommendations.

To begin a gap analysis, ask these simple questions about your Employee Health and Wellness Program:
• What is the current state of the Employee Health and Wellness Program?
• How does the Employee Health and Wellness Program measure up to evidence-based practices? (i.e., the desired state)

The gap is the difference between the current and desired states.

After the gap has been identified, the next step is to determine the action steps that are needed to close the gap. These actions answer the question: “How can the Employee Health and Wellness Program move forward towards the desired state?”

Sometimes the gaps that need to be filled can be addressed through Employee Health and Wellness Program changes; other gaps might require policy changes. However, using a gap analysis will help you identify areas for Employee Health and Wellness Program improvement as well as the actions needed to make progress towards those goals.

Employee Health and Wellness Program business plan review (from Key #19)
• A Employee Health and Wellness Program business plan is a roadmap for success.
• Your Employee Health and Wellness Program business plan should convincingly demonstrate that your Employee Health and Wellness Program will help the organization to achieve its goals.

More smart Employee Health and Wellness Program business planning strategies

Planning the Employee Health and Wellness Program

• Find out how your organization plans so that your planning process will be in sync with what already happens in the organization.
• Involve other individuals. A planning team brings their combined experience and perspective to the process. Including potential partners as you plan will make it easier to get their buy-in later.

Thinking of the big picture

• Look at the barriers and challenges that might be encountered during Employee Health and Wellness Program implementation. Develop strategies ahead of time to overcome these potential problems.
• Do a SWOT analysis and examine Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

This analysis will help you identify potential problem areas or resource shortfalls as well as opportunities for growth or increased partnerships with other installation personnel.

The WORST business planning strategy: sitting in your office; working by yourself.

The best Employee Health and Wellness Program business planning strategies
• Get out of your office; get out of the business. The more individuals you involve in the Employee Health and Wellness Program planning process, the better. Always look for ways to expand your network.
• Keep your budget individuals informed. Get to know their philosophy of financial management.
• Be able to articulate the impact if your budget is not fully funded.
o Stay away from basing your impact-if-not-funded argument solely on: “We have to.”
o Instead, describe the impact-if-not-funded with phrases like: injuries to workers, increased compensation costs, increased medical care costs for patients, lost work time, loss of licenses/accreditations, loss of workload to the Tricare network.
• Always have purchase requests ready to be submitted. There is frequently a short window of time to process these requests. Having the information gathered ahead of time will make it easy to submit the information right away.

A well thought-out Employee Health and Wellness Program business plan is essential in these times of shrinking budgets and resources. A good business plan will help you gain leadership support and help you get and keep resources needed to implement the Employee Health and Wellness Program.

A business plan is a roadmap for success. Use the guidelines below to develop a realistic business plan and budget for your Employee Health and Wellness Programs.

What is a business plan?
• A plan for success
• A document that convincingly demonstrates that your Employee Health and Wellness Program will help the organization to achieve its goals.

Questions to ask when developing a Employee Health and Wellness Program business plan
• Why do you need to do the Employee Health and Wellness Program?
• What are you going to do?
• Where are you going to do it?
• Who is the target audience?
• How are you going to do it?
• Who is going to implement the Employee Health and Wellness Program?
• How much will the Employee Health and Wellness Program cost Senior Management?
• What is Senior Management going to get out of the Employee Health and Wellness Program? Why should Senior Management invest in the Employee Health and Wellness Program?

Employee Health and Wellness Program business Plan Components
• Title and duration of the Employee Health and Wellness Program
• Points of contact
• Background information (description of need; bibliography/literature review; how the Employee Health and Wellness Program will help achieve the organization’s goals)
• Employee Health and Wellness Program description
• Goals and objectives
• Implementation site
• Target population
• Work plan
• Partnerships and collaborations
• Timelines and milestones
• Budget and resource requirements (dollars and individuals)

Gaining the support of leadership
• Clearly link the Employee Health and Wellness Program goals and objectives to the organization’s strategic plan.
• Focus on the desired outcomes.
• Use the right language for the right audience. For example, Senior Management is interested in decreased clinic visits, increased provider productivity, management of the health of the population. However, Senior Management is interested in increased readiness, decreased lost duty/training time, and decreased disability and FECA claims.
A well thought-out Employee Health and Wellness Program business plan will help you gain leadership support, help you get and keep resources needed to implement the Employee Health and Wellness Program, and keep the Employee Health and Wellness Program on track towards meaningful outcomes.

As they say: “timing is everything.” Use the guidelines below to guide the timing of Employee Health and Wellness Program activities and data collection.

Timing: Employee Health and Wellness Program Start-up
• Look at the optimal time to start a new Employee Health and Wellness Program. Take into account preferences of the target population and other factors that could affect enrollment and participation.
• For example, coordinating the start of an adult weight management initiative with the start of school in August or September may be a good tie-in with a “fresh start.”
• On the other hand, starting an adult weight management initiative In January may not be a great idea because of the constraints that weather may put on exercising outdoors.
• Take advantage of other timing cycles at your installation. Planning a marketing blitz just after the PCS turnover has been completed is a good way to let new personnel know what Employee Health and Wellness Program options are available.

Timing: Employee Health and Wellness Program Participant Support
• Look at how frequently Employee Health and Wellness Program sessions should be offered to provide the best support and education for members and the best opportunity for success.
• Get feedback from members regarding what session frequencies work best for them.
• Look at the timing for other support mechanisms like email encouragement. What timing of those messages will benefit members most: Weekly? Bi-monthly? Monthly?

Timing: Employee Health and Wellness Program Data Collection
• Collecting data is an excellent way to track participant progress and also to identify potential problems within a Employee Health and Wellness Program. So, give some thought to the frequency and timing of data collection.
• Select metrics that can realistically change during the Employee Health and Wellness Program implementation time period. For example, BMI and weight may not change very much during a 10-week Employee Health and Wellness Program; however, step counts are more likely to noticeably change.
• Some data, such as participant responsiveness to out-of-class assignments (like food journals) and other interim data (like step counts) will provide important information needed to “adjust fire” as needed and make Employee Health and Wellness Program changes if something is not working.
• Be flexible regarding data collection frequency. Instead of requiring that members complete an physical fitness log every day, for example, consider asking for a “snapshot” summary from two or three days during the week. You will still get information to review, but members will have an easier time complying with the assignment.

Timing: Employee Health and Wellness Program Follow-up
• Because the we are such a mobile population, it’s best to plan some sort of post-Employee Health and Wellness Program follow-up data collection within two to four months after the Employee Health and Wellness Program ends.
• You can always try to collect additional follow-up data at 6 or 12 months after Employee Health and Wellness Program completion. However, if you collect the data sooner, you’ll at least have collected some short term Employee Health and Wellness Program impact information before members are lost to follow-up.