Employee Wellness Newsletter : Worksite Health Promotion Program Screening And Worksite Health Promotion Program Intervention Programs

Health screenings are significant programs to identify chronic conditions in their early stages. Once identified, wellness intervention programs can help prevent a disease from progressing. Working with local hospitals and other corporations, you can get information on providing evaluation and intervention programs that could improve your employees’ health and save your employer money in absenteeism, treatment for disease complications, and reduced productiveness. Below are some ideas to assist you in getting started.

Based on your Employee Needs & Interest Survey and the demographics of your workplace, consider offering periodic screenings to find specific health risks such as:

• Blood Pressure Checks to identify staff members with pre-hypertension or hypertension (elevated blood pressure),
• Cholesterol Screenings for total, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol) and/or Triglycerides
• Blood Sugar Screenings fasting or non-fasting to screen for possible diabetes,
• Body composition, such as body mass index (BMI) or body fat measures
• Bone density for potential risk of osteoporosis,
• Cancer screenings such as, skin examinations, mammograms, or PSA screenings,
• Vision checks for glaucoma, or visual acuity
• Other health screenings depending on your worker population and needs

Your local hospital, corporation physician practice, or health department may offer assistance. However, if you have workers you may want to concentrate on programs that will keep them healthy rather than screening for early identification of chronic conditions. The focus of your wellness program might be healthy lifestyle practices to reduce risk and prevent disease.

In addition to the wellness screenings, consider offering a Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment to all staff members. The Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment will help to identify factors that may lead to additional risks, such as smoking history, stress levels, perception of health, family history, job satisfaction, support systems, and mental health. Often the evaluation results are included on the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, which supports a more inclusive snap shot of health risks. The summary results support the significant information to plan appropriate interventions.

Worksite Wellness Program Interventions

The key to the performance of screenings and Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) is the interventions or follow-up programs. The data collected during the screenings increases awareness and often motivates workers to consider making healthier changes. It’s the follow up interventions that provide the essential support and assistance needed for workers to actually make and maintain those changes. The interventions are able to include individual follow-up and ongoing counseling, individual or group health coaching on the risk factors, behavior change programs, and/or employer support. Examples include:

• Strategies to decrease Blood Pressure (BP)
• Managing diabetes
• Taking care of your heart
• Healthier eating
• Weight loss plans
• Growing physical exercise
• Tobacco Cessation

Of course, this is for individual information only. Any follow-up interventions planned by the employer would be based on interest expressed by the employee.

Based on the results and your Employee Health Promotion Program Committee objectives you are able to plan the best strategies for your employer and staff members. Consider the area resources available to support services, such as health associations, hospitals, medical providers, and/or public health agencies.