Role and Value of the Corporate Medical Director.

: The role of the corporate medical director (CMD) has evolved over the last 300 years since Ramazzini first identified diseases of Italian workers in the early 1700s. Since then, there has been a gradual blurring of the boundaries between private and workplace health concerns. Today's CMD must have intimate knowledge of their corporation's industry and the businesses that they support, particularly the occupational and environmental programs that comply with all local, state, and/or national standards and regulations.

Mental Health in the Workplace: A Call to Action Proceedings From the Mental Health in the Workplace-Public Health Summit.

Objective: The aim of the study was to declare a call to action to improve mental health in the workplace.

Methods: We convened a public health summit and assembled an Advisory Council consisting of experts in the field of occupational health and safety, workplace wellness, and public policy to offer recommendations for action steps to improve health and well-being of workers.

Results: The Advisory Council narrowed the list of ideas to four priority projects.

The Effects of Telecommuting Intensity on Employee Health.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of the intensity of telecommuting on employee health.

Design: Study design comprised a longitudinal analysis of employee demographic data, medical claims, health risk assessment data, and remote connectivity hours.

Setting: Data from Prudential Financial served as the setting.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Among Employees at Large Firms.

Objectives: To determine whether race/ethnic disparities in the prevalence of chronic health conditions exist among an employed population.

Methods: We measured racial and ethnic differences in health across a national sample of workers in 46 large US businesses. We examined 15 chronic conditions for six ethnic/racial groups: African American, Hispanic, white, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and Two or More Races.

Do workplace health promotion (wellness) programs work?

Objective: To respond to the question, "Do workplace health promotion programs work?"

Methods: A compilation of the evidence on workplace programs' effectiveness coupled with recommendations for critical review of outcome studies. Also, reviewed are recent studies questioning the value of workplace programs.

Results: Evidence accumulated over the past three decades shows that well-designed and well-executed programs that are founded on evidence-based principles can achieve positive health and financial outcomes.

Measuring changes in lipid and blood glucose values in the health and wellness program of Prudential Financial, Inc.

Objective: To determine the effect of health promotion programs of Prudential Financial, Inc on biometric measures of blood lipids and glucose.

Methods: Using actual biometric and self-reported measures of blood lipids and glucose values for the employees of Prudential Financial, Inc, we examined 1) the extent to which self-reported lipid and blood glucose values correlate to laboratory data, 2) whether self-reported and measured lipid values differ for physically active and sedentary employees, and 3) whether participation in a disease management program affects employees' lipid measures.

Results: We found significant differences in self-reported and measured total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein values, although these differences and those for all lipid and blood glucose values were not clinically meaningful.