Your Source for Wellness

Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s, are an assessment tool or questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information to assist person in making healthful changes that impact their health and prevent chronic condition.

Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s have four standard elements in worksite settings -

• A Questionnaire

• A Computerized Program to Evaluate Health Risk

• Confidential Individual Reports

• Group Summary Report

Individuals complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example nutrition 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 biometric screenings such as cholesterol and blood pressure causescreases the advantages of an Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal} by providing a more valid health assessment and accordingly improving lifestyle choice decisions and program options.

Nevertheless, it’s important to determine when the Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal} could be used without including this information.

The questionnaire information is entered into a computer program and a personal confidential report is generated that summarizes health risks in addition to information on how to lower risk factors.

Individual reports are completely confidential. Depending on the reason for starting the Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}, it’s important to consider the type of report the corporation will receive as well.

A group report summarizing major risk factors and recommendations for programs to begin for reduce worker and corporation risks provides valuable information for your wellness program.

The Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s / Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s can be used to -

• Bring awareness to individual employee’s health status

• Motivate workers to make healthier lifestyle changes

• Coach high-risk employees

• Plan wellness programs based on the identified needs

• Evaluate program success by comparing Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s / Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s completed at set intervals such as yearly.

There are many benefits to considering a part-time or full-time occupational and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty practice that provides for and delivers health and safety programs and services to employees, and employee populations.

The practice focuses on promotion and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, treatment of work and non-work related injuries and diseases, and protection from work related  and environmental hazards.

OHN roles can include -  Case management, Counseling, Wellness, 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 can design, conduct and evaluate activities that help improve the health of all your workers. They’re subject matter specialists who might  be a asset regardless your program needs and goals.

They can help form a Wellness Committee and implement many of its programs and services, for example or depending on the structure and time commitments of your Wellness Committee, they can also coordinate the entire program as well.

Integrating the activities of the Committee and/or Wellness Specialist services within your operations, including within your safety and occupational medical program will provide additional benefits!

We are planning company wellness programs to help you feel better and stay healthful. In order to plan programs that best meet your needs and interests we’d like your suggestions!

Please take a few minutes to answer some questions about your interests. Your answers will be combined with those of other’s and reviewed to help plan programs for you. Do not sign your name.

Please complete the survey today and return it to__________. Thank you for your valuable input! Your help is important for planning successful 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’m 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

Learning healthy eating options to lose weight 1 2 3

Sports nutrition 1 2 3

Healthier cooking 1 2 3

Helping my kids eat healthier 1 2 3

Quick, healthful meals for busy lifestyles 1 2 3

Healthful snack choices 1 2 3

Learning how to quit use of tobacco 1 2 3

Attending courses to help me quit use of tobacco cigarettes 1 2 3

Stress Mangement skills 1 2 3

Balancing work, family, and personal life 1 2 3

Time management skills 1 2 3

Participating in a beginning fitness program 1 2 3

Planning 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 avoidance 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 raise intake of fruits and vegetables 1 2 3

Parenting Topics (age of children -  ) 1 2 3

On-Site exercise classes -  walking Yoga aerobic other -  1 2 3

Medical testing such as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar 1 2 3

Program evaluation might  be the last step, but it must be planned at the starting of your efforts!  Analysis assists you identify what parts of the program are working well and what parts need improvement.  

Then, based on the examination data, adjustments could be made to fine-tune your wellness program.   Adjusting the program based on examination data is vital to its continued success.  

Investigating your program does not have to be complicated.  HOWEVER, it is important to plan how you will monitor your wellness efforts and determine success during the planning phase.  

Also remember to evaluate the program based on the objectives and objectives you already identified during your planning process.  

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

• Program topic and numbers of workers who participated

• the numbers of  flyers taken by employees or distributed and on what topics

• the number of participants in a behavior change program and how many met their goals as well as how many attended all the sessions

• Numbers of employees who continued the healthful behavior change following the program?

• Overall employee satisfaction with the program or each topic.  Here is a sample investigation form.  

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

• Absentee rates

• Injury rates

• Health risk factors Insurance costs  

Summarize and Report Wellness Program Results

Once you have collected all the examination information it needs to be reviewed with the Wellness Committee and summarized.  You will probably have positive results and some areas where a change is needed or additional focus required for continuous improvement.  

This not-so positive information may be used to make any needed changes as well as to plan for next year and is important to include in your report.  

It is important to communicate the wellness program results to both management and workers.  Consider how management ordinarily receives reports on operations and productivity issues and include the annual wellness program report in the same format.  

At some corporations the reports are made during management meetings using presentation styles like power point slides.  At other corporations, graphs and bar charts are the norm or a list of the objectives and the summary outcomes reported.  

No matter the format, it’s important to convey the outcomes and successes achieved, including any anecdotal stories, in addition to areas for improvement.  Make sure to link the outcomes to the company mission and bottom line whenever possible.

Employees want to receive the same information!  Consider using the same communication channels used when informing workers of the wellness program -

• Company newsletters,

• Bulletin boards,

• E-mails  

Additionally consider celebrating successes and recognizing achievements by -

• Posting pictures from events

• Highlighting success stories

• Posting pictures of successes

• Scheduling a celebration

• Recognizing champions  

Armed with data, Wellness Program topic preferences, objectives, and objectives - and a Wellness 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 peruse about the different types of wellness programs offered by other companies to get an idea of what may work for your company.  

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

Important Wellness Program considerations include -  

1. Formally Introduce the Wellness Program and consider policy statements that state the importance of the wellness program.  Examples include a general policy regarding the commitment to worker health and safety as well as specific policies such as No Tobacco use, Healthy Consuming and Exercise.

2. Communicate Your Program -  the best planned program with great wellness programs won’t be advantageous if your employees do not know about it or do not understand the choices or how to participate.  Communicate your wellness program using a variety of methods to ensure the message and “how-to’s” are heard!

Wellness Program Communication Strategies could include -

• Newsletter articles

• Postings on the corporation’s intranet or internet

• A designated Champion of the program

• Formal or informal meeting to announce program, “the kick-off”

• pamphlets / table tents,

• Bulletin boards / kiosk where all material is promoted or found,

• Email / phone messages,

• Mailings or distributions  

3. Use Wellness Program Incentives -   You’ll be amazed to find out what people  will do for a free T-shirt.  Incentives can both support and motivate participation among workers.  

Consider both formal or business incentives and informal or program rewards/prizes from local resources to reinforce participation in Wellness Programs. Either way, it’s important to provide incentives that are attractive and meaningful to your employees.

Business Structural or Formal Wellness Program Incentives -

• Discounts on worker health insurance premiums or co-pays, or contributions to 401K programs, worker stock choices, or other mechanisms.  Click here for additional information on health plan incentive ideas

• Fitness Club/Fitness Club discounts or enrollment fee coverage

• Public transportation vouchers

• Flexible work time options

• “Wellness Days” off work  

Rewards/Prizes or Informal Wellness Program Incentives -

• Cash - a very effective incentive!

• Prize incentives such as gift certificates to heart healthful restaurants; music player to use while exercising, emergency kits, or any other prizes that would motivate your staff members.

• T-Shirts, water bottles, or other cheap rewards

4. Assess community resources available to provide some of the wellness services.  The local health department or your corporation healthcare provider might  be able to assist you with this information.  There are also providers throughout the State providing great wellness services for businesses.  They’re available to help you strategize and find the best options available.

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

The Wellness Committee ought to set out a plan for the entire year that outlines accomplishing objectives and objectives, as well as provides details for advertising and investigating  the program.

The plan is the detailed map of what types of programs will be offered, when and where they’ll be scheduled, how they’ll be marketed and investigated, and what the budget is.  

It’s important to plan your wellness activities based on your objectives and objectives, as well as the budget since different strategies will yield different outcomes.  For example, when your objective is to elevate awareness on a topic, then distributing  flyers or scheduling a one-time education session might  be appropriate.  

Nonetheless, when your goal is to change behavior, then different strategies may  be necessary, such as ongoing weekly sessions and support groups.  Click here to link to Program Design Choices for more ideas.

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 often, keep it fresh, and remind employees again and again!  

Consider having an overall kickoff activity to let everyone know about the wellness program.  Senior Level Management ought to provide the introduction or invitation so that all employees are aware of their support and leadership in the program.

Possible marketing and advertising methods -

• Sending email messages, including reminders

• Posting flyers,

• Displaying bulletin board postings,

• Writing articles,

• Sending letters or

• Sending special invitations.  

Other Wellness Program Considerations -

• is the program promoted to all employees or to a specific target audience?

• Do you have a program champion (someone who is connected with different groups in the organization, and well respected) who can help in your promotion efforts?

• If your advertising efforts do not seem to be working, do you have a way to revisit and adjust 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 Wellness Programs -

• Nutrition

• Exercise/Exercise

• Tobacco Use Cessation

• Bone Health

• Heart Health

• Healthful Back

• Stress Reduction

• Chronic Disease Awareness and Prevention

• Self-care; Wise Health Care Consumer

• Screening Services (BMI, blood pressure, bone density, cholesterol, glucose, posture, vision, and other…)

• Ergonomic Assessments

• Wellness Fairs

• Kids/family Events

• Others topics that workers have interest in  

The topics and kind of Wellness Program planned depend on the needs and interest, overall goal and resources available.  

Program Design Options include awareness programs like  flyers and/or education sessions, behavior change or modification programs like smoking cessation and weight loss classes, and environmental or organizational support like no smoking policies or healthy selections in vending machines.  

The programs planned also depend on the demographics of your workforce.  If you’ve a young, healthy workforce, you may want to focus the wellness attention on keeping employees healthy and not need to screen for illness.  

Instead you might want to focus on healthy lifestyle behavior like exercise and good nutrition to prevent the start of disease.  Click here for more information on strategies for keeping workers well, identifying disease early, or returning workers to work who already have a chronic disease.

It’s also important to consider, and plan how you will evaluate the success of your wellness program.  The system needs to be established for tracking certain data and recording events depending on the program goals and desired outcomes.  

Step 7 discusses program examination in more detail.   and Step 6 will launch your program!

A Wellness Program without objectives and objectives 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’ve arrived, or even whether or not you’ve arrived!  

The trip might end up ok, or it could end up disastrously.  Yet, with a little thoughtful planning, you increase your chances for a successful experience.  Clear objectives and objectives are needed to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!

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

Wellness Program Mission Statement

The first consideration is a mission statement for your Wellness Program. the mission statement is the overall expression of what the Wellness Committee wants to accomplish by implementing a wellness program.  

It’s important to consider how your Wellness Program fits in with the corporation mission statement, contributes to the overall mission and supports the corporation bottom line.  This will integrate your efforts throughout the corporation operations.  

Here are some examples of Wellness Program mission statements -  

At XYZ Corporation, maintaining an environment that supports worker health and safety is our underlying value.  It’s the mission of the Wellness Program to assist in developing wellness services that fosters and upholds that value.

It is the mission of the XYZ Wellness Committee to foster healthier lifestyle choices to reduce health risk factors, improve overall well-being, and maintain a productive, active work force.

Wellness Program Goals

The goals and goals further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment.  Depending on the needs assessment, management expectations and staff member interests, examples of goals can include -  

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

• Reduce absenteeism by one day per staff member

• Lower musculoskeletal injuries by 10%

• Decrease unnecessary emergency room visits

• Decrease or contain health care costs

• Improve dietary habits of employees

• Reduce health risk factors  

Wellness Program Objectives

Specific Wellness Program goals help meet your long-term goals and vision.  Both short term and long term goals ought to be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals and mission.  

In addition to objectives for the expected participant outcomes, process objectives should also be created for the program process itself.  For  instance, process objectives may include how many workers you want to participate in the programs, how many sessions on a topic will be offered, the type of wellness sessions that’ll be implemented, etc.

Goals need to be easily measurable within a set time frame.  Try using the SMART formula to create both your long and short-term objectives and objectives -

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)

• Measurable (one result that can be observed or assessed),

• Attainable (but also challenging),

• Realistic (do you’ve 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.  For  instance, an objective for a weight loss program that has an overall goal of improving healthy consuming and promoting a healthy weight is that -  

Participants (who) will lose an typical 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 participant (attainable and realistic).

Or -  

Participants (who) will attend 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 an objective for coaching staff members with elevated cholesterol may  be -  

To reduce the sum cholesterol (specific what) of high risk employees with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions offered at the worksite (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic and time specific when) to lower the risk factor for heart illness (why).  

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

By the end of the 4-week smoking cessation program, 10% of the participants will have quit smoking.  Each participant will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the program’s end to determine quit status (process objective) and 10% of those who quit will still be smoke free after one year.

You’ve now completed Steps 1 through 4, including establishing your Wellness Committee.  It’s now time to plan your wellness activities!

Before you start planning your Wellness Program you need to know where you are now and then decide where you want to go.  Completing a thorough needs assessment is crucial to the success of your wellness program for two reasons -  

• First it ensures that your program activities will be targeted to meet your corporation’s specific needs so that outcomes could be achieved.  

• Secondly the needs assessment provides the information you’ll need to evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.

It is often tempting to rush the assessment - especially when time is limited or those with experience already have an idea of needs.  Don’t give in to this temptation!  

It is vital to understand what your corporation needs are, what management expects, and what workers want as well as expect, before you create a program.  

Consider and gather data on -

• Demographic Information

• Health Risk Factors

• Medical Claims

• Injury Rates and Causes

• Workers’ Compensation Claims

• Short and Long Term Disability Claims

• Absenteeism

• Culture Audits

• Employee perceived needs and health risks

• Management expectations or desired outcomes

There are many ways to assess this information.  Although some of data collecting process might  be time consuming, remember that it is however essential to plan programs that target specific issues.  

This information will be vital to set objectives and for evaluating  program success.  How else can you know if outcomes have been achieved?

Options to help gather the wellness program information -

• Confidential Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s with a Corporation Group Summary Report click here for more information on Health Risk (Assessment|Appraisal}s or Assessments

• Biometric Screenings such as cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar click here for more information on biometric testings.

• Staff Member 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 costs  

Once your needs assessment is complete, the Wellness Committee can review the results and begin planning and prioritizing program choices.  

Planning should be based on goals and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!

Establishing an active Wellness Committee provides opportunities for both management and employee involvement in the program.  The Committee should be a team of workers and managers who formally meet to plan activities to promote healthier employee lifestyles.

Typical Functions of a Wellness Committee -

• Assessing needs and interests

• Brainstorming program ideas

• Planning activities

• Developing communication plans

• Promoting programs to coworkers

• Serving as champions of the Wellness Programs

• Helping with examination  

Your Wellness Committee ought to be representative of all levels of the corporation.  Consider all areas of the workforce - multiple sites, shift staff members, diversity (race, gender, ethnicity), and departments.  

It’s also important to consider who’ll chair or co-chair the Wellness Committee and whether or not there are the finances to support a wellness manager or occupational health expert, even on a part-time or contractual basis.  Click here for additional information on the benefits of a health expert.  

Depending on your company size and resources, if you already have a company Safety Committee you might want to consider making it the Safety and Wellness Committee.  You can request volunteers or invite employees to participate.  

The number of Wellness Committee members depends on the size of your company; nevertheless, you need enough members to get the work done and yet not too many to keep it manageable, normally a minimum of 4 members and maximum of 12 to 15 members.  

It’s important to include skeptics of wellness as well and not just those employees already practicing healthful lifestyles.  

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

• Employee representatives from a cross section of different departments,

• Management/leadership,

• Health and safety expert(s),

• Human resources  expert(s),

• Benefits staff or someone from finance,

• Your staff member assistance program (EAP) provider (if applicable), Click here for more information on EAPs

• Medical or occupational health staff (if applicable).

Establish an effective Wellness Committee!  the Wellness Committee ought to meet regularly with a planned agenda and action items.  Successful Wellness Committees have a shared mission, vision and goals.  

Members need to believe that their participation is worthwhile and appreciated, that their work is important, benefits the organization and colleagues, and they are recognized for their contributions. Refer to the NC Workplace Programs section for instances of what other companies have implemented.

As with any program, the two crucial elements for the success of your wellness program are  executive management support and staff member involvement.  Upper-level management sets the vision and provides the resources from which action plans flow.  

Genuine support from senior personnel also lends credibility to the wellness program.  It’s key that  upper management be visible supporters and role models for your Wellness Program.

Employees need to be involved on several levels so that they feel ownership of the wellness program.  Employees are the program stakeholders!  

All staff members should have an opportunity to provide input and feedback through needs and interest surveys and program investigation tools.  The information accumulated ought to be used to plan programs that target those needs and interests to ensure participation, buy-in, and support.

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

• Conducting Worker Focus Groups

• Discussing Wellness Interests During Department Meetings

• Distributing and Summarizing a Needs and Interest Survey

• Including an Opportunity to Give Suggestions on Each Investigation Tool  

Any one or combination of a few techniques will ensure that the wellness program meets what workers want.  Click here for a sample Needs and Interest Survey.

Step 3 provides additional information on deciding wellness program needs.  But first, establishing a Wellness Committee can help you involve management and staff members, determine need, and plan your wellness program.