Wellness Program Participation and its Association With Illness-Related Absenteeism and Turnover: One University's Story.

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the possible association between health and wellness initiative (HWI) participation and illness related absenteeism (IRA) and turnover overtime.

Methods: The IRA (2016-2019) and turnover (2016-2020) analysis consisted of a time-series design. The IRA analysis used a comparison group with propensity score matching based on select demographics and linear mixed-effects regression modeling.

Weight-inclusive, intuitive eating-based workplace wellness program associated with improvements in intuitive eating, eating disorder symptoms, internalized weight stigma, and diet quality.

Introduction: The use of weight-inclusive programming within a workplace wellness context remains understudied.

Methods: The present study is a pilot/feasibility study of a 3-month, virtual, weight-inclusive, intuitive eating-based workplace wellness program. Program participants (n = 114), who were all employees at a large public university in the Midwest, received weekly emails with a link to an instructional video related to intuitive eating and were encouraged to meet virtually with their health coach.

Wellness Program Participation and its Association With Reduction in Health Risks and Health Care Costs: One University's Story.

Purpose: Evaluate if there is a(n): 1) reduction in health risk behaviors and 2) association between health and wellness initiative participation and claims costs decreases overtime.

Design: Health risk behavior change consisted of the analysis of pre (2009) - post (2019) measures of health questionnaire participants. The medical and pharmaceutical claims costs evaluation consisted of a time-series (2016-2019) design with a comparison group.

Unique Barriers to Workplace Health Promotion Programs by Wage Category: A Qualitative Assessment of Secondary Data.

Purpose: To understand barriers around accessing or using workplace health promotion (WHP) programs among workers in different wage categories.

Approach: We conducted qualitative analysis of responses to three open-ended questions about WHP program participation, collected as part of an existing WHP program evaluation. Setting: A large mid-western university.

Supporting Employee Health at Work: How Perceptions Differ Across Wage Category.

Purpose: This study examines the association between sources of stress and perceptions of organizational and supervisor support for health and well-being.

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis.

Setting: Large university in the mid-western United States.

Wellness Program Nonparticipation and Its Association With Employee Turnover.

Purpose: This study examines the association between nonparticipation in wellness activities and employee turnover risk.

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis.

Setting: Large university in the Midwestern United States.

Workplace Well-Being Factors That Predict Employee Participation, Health and Medical Cost Impact, and Perceived Support.

Purpose: This study tested relationships between health and well-being best practices and 3 types of outcomes.

Design: A cross-sectional design used data from the HERO Scorecard Benchmark Database.

Setting: Data were voluntarily provided by employers who submitted web-based survey responses.

Development and Validity of a Workplace Health Promotion Best Practices Assessment.

Objective: To explore the factor structure of the HERO Health and Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer (HERO Scorecard) to develop a reduced version and examine the reliability and validity of that version.

Methods: A reduced version of the HERO Scorecard was developed through formal statistical analyses on data collected from 845 organizations that completed the original HERO Scorecard.

Results: The final factors in the reduced Scorecard represented content pertaining to organizational and leadership support, program comprehensiveness, program integration, and incentives.

Characterizing Employees' Preferences for Incentives for Healthy Behaviors: Examples to Improve Interest in Wellness Programs.

. Many employers now incentivize employees to engage in wellness programs, yet few studies have examined differences in preferences for incentivizing participation in healthy behaviors and wellness programs. .

Mixed methods study of engagement in behaviors to prevent type 2 diabetes among employees with pre-diabetes.

Background: Many employers use screenings to identify and recommend modification of employees' risk factors for type 2 diabetes, yet little is known about how often employees then engage in recommended behaviors and what factors influence engagement. We examined the frequency of, facilitators of, and barriers to engagement in recommended behaviors among employees found to have pre-diabetes during a workplace screening.

Methods: We surveyed 82 University of Michigan employees who were found to have pre-diabetes during a 2014 workplace screening and compared the characteristics of employees who 3 months later were and were not engaged in recommended behaviors.

Factors Associated With Participation in a University Worksite Wellness Program.

Introduction: Healthcare reform legislation encourages employers to implement worksite wellness activities as a way to reduce rising employer healthcare costs. Strategies for increasing program participation is of interest to employers, though few studies characterizing participation exist in the literature. The University of Michigan conducted a 5-year evaluation of its worksite wellness program, MHealthy, in 2014.

Perceptions of a Culture of Health: Implications for Communications and Programming.

Purpose: This study aims to illustrate the potential utility of open-ended survey data, regarding faculty and staff perceptions of a culture of health (CoH), for targeting communications and programming. Overall, these types of data show how they may be used to assist in implementing, improving, and sustaining a CoH in an organization. Design/method/approach.

How valid are self-reports of illness-related absence? Evidence from a university employee health management program.

The present study uses a focused approach to compare self-reported versus administratively recorded measures of absences related to health or illness. To date, the few studies that focus on this topic produced mixed results. To help shed light on this issue, the present research has 2 related objectives: (1) examine how highly correlated self-reported and administratively recorded measures of absences related to health or illness might be, and (2) how each measure predicts various aspects of health.

The association between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular risk factors among middle-aged and older men and women.

Studies of gender differences in the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and cardiovascular risk factors have produced mixed findings. The purpose of this research was to examine whether the association between SES and cardiovascular risk factors differed between older men and women. Using data on physical measures and biomarkers from the 2006 Health and Retirement Study (N = 2,502 men; N = 3,474 women), linear regression models were used to estimate the association between SES and seven cardiovascular risk factors.

The prospective relationship between binge drinking and physician visits among older adults.

Objectives: The objectives are to (a) determine if binge drinking is related to physician visits and (b) estimate the degree to which the relationship between binge drinking and physician visits can be explained by other health characteristics.

Method: Data on a sample of 4,960 older adults (70+ years of age in 2002) from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used. Three linear regression models estimated the impact of binge drinking on physician visits.

Does caring for your spouse harm one's health? Evidence from a United States nationally-representative sample of older adults.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between spousal care-giving and declines in functioning and self-rated health among older care-givers. The authors used data from the 2000 and 2002 waves of the United States Health and Retirement Study, a biennial longitudinal survey of a nationally representative cohort of adults aged 50 or more years. Two outcomes were examined, declines in functioning and declines in self-rated health.

The relationship of older adults' activities and body mass index.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and older adults' hours of participation in 31 activities.

Methods: Descriptive statistics are presented for the relationships between BMI and sociodemographics, health behaviors, and health characteristics. Linear regression was used to model the number of hours of participation in each activity.

Informal caregiving and Body Mass Index among older adults.

The authors sought to obtain nationally representative estimates of the time of informal caregiving provided to older adults classified into the four standard Body Mass Index (BMI) classifications. They estimated multivariate regression models using data from the 2000 Health and Retirement Study to determine the weekly hours of informal caregiving for older adults classified into the four standard BMI classifications. In the fully adjusted models, being underweight was associated with receiving significantly more informal care, however, obesity was not associated with more informal care.

Patterns and associations of body weight among older adults in two Asian societies.

Body weight has important health implications across the lifespan. Most recent attention has focused on the obesity epidemic that is occurring in many parts of the world. However, underweight is also a concern, particularly in less developed countries.

Functional impairment as a risk factor for urinary incontinence among older Americans.

Aims: Using a large nationally representative sample of older Americans we investigate four domains of functional impairment as possible risk factors for the subsequent development of urinary incontinence (UI) symptoms.

Methods: Data from three waves (1993, 1995, 1998) of the Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) survey were used to model the effects of functional impairment on the onset of UI symptoms.

Results: A greater number of serious chronic conditions and functional impairment in the lower body mobility domain increased the odds of the onset of mild UI (vs.

Does urinary incontinence affect middle-aged and older women's time use and activity patterns?

Objective: To investigate the relationship between urinary incontinence and women's levels and hours of participation in 31 activities.

Methods: A subset of panel members from the Health and Retirement Study completed the self-administered Consumption and Activities Mail Survey questionnaire in 2001. These data were linked with Health and Retirement Study 2000 data.