Promoting Healthy Workplaces by Building Cultures of Health and Applying Strategic Communications.

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify key success elements of employer-sponsored health promotion (wellness) programs.

Methods: We conducted an updated literature review, held discussions with subject matter experts, and visited nine companies with exemplary programs to examine current best and promising practices in workplace health promotion programs.

Results: Best practices include establishing a culture of health and using strategic communications.

The Stock Performance of C. Everett Koop Award Winners Compared With the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Objective: To explore the link between companies investing in the health and well-being programs of their employees and stock market performance.

Methods: Stock performance of C. Everett Koop National Health Award winners (n = 26) was measured over time and compared with the average performance of companies comprising the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 Index.

Measuring the Prevalence and Incidence of Low Back Pain Disorders Among American Workers in the Aerospace and Defense Industry.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and incidence of low back pain (LBP) among workers in the aerospace and defense industry and in a specific company.

Methods: Claims and demographic data from the Truven Health MarketScan normative database representing more than 1 million workers were drawn from a group of 18 US benchmark companies and compared with one particular company, Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Results: The prevalence of LBP in the MarketScan normative group was 15.

Economic Impact of Tobacco Price Increases Through Taxation: A Community Guide Systematic Review.

Context: Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and around the world.

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.

Implementation of a worksite wellness program targeting small businesses: the Pinnacol Assurance health risk management study.

Objective: To assess small business adoption and need for a worksite wellness program in a longitudinal study of health risks, productivity, workers' compensation rates, and claims costs.

Methods: Health risk assessment data from 6507 employees in 260 companies were examined. Employer and employee data are reported as frequencies, with means and standard deviations reported when applicable.

The relationship between workplace environment and employee health behaviors in a South African workforce.

Objective: To determine the relationship between the availability of wellness facilities at worksites and self-reported employee health behaviors (physical activity [PA] and nutrition [NUT]).

Methods: Employers (n = 71) and employees (n = 11472) participated in the South African Healthy Company Index survey. The survey included self-reported clinical measures and lifestyle behaviors.

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.

Estimating the return on investment from a health risk management program offered to small Colorado-based employers.

Objective: To determine whether changes in health risks for workers in small businesses can produce medical and productivity cost savings.

Methods: A 1-year pre- and posttest study tracked changes in 10 modifiable health risks for 2458 workers at 121 Colorado businesses that participated in a comprehensive worksite health promotion program. Risk reductions were entered into a return-on-investment (ROI) simulation model.

The relationship between leadership support, workplace health promotion and employee wellbeing in South Africa.

Leadership support has been identified as an essential component of successful workplace health promotion (WHP) programs. However, there is little research in this area and even less theoretical conceptualization on ways in which leadership support for WHP is related to improved employee wellbeing. In this paper, we developed and tested a model of leadership support for WHP and employee wellbeing outcomes using employer and employee data gathered from 71 South African organizations.

Reliability and validity testing of the CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard: an assessment tool to help employers prevent heart disease, stroke, and related health conditions.

Objective: To develop, evaluate, and improve the reliability and validity of the CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard (HSC).

Methods: We tested interrater reliability by piloting the HSC at 93 worksites, examining question response concurrence between two representatives from each worksite. We conducted cognitive interviews and site visits to evaluate face validity of items and refined the instrument for general distribution.

A descriptive evaluation of CDC's LEAN Works! Leading employees to activity and nutrition--a Web-based employer tool for workplace obesity management.

Purpose: The study aim was to determine the utility of and satisfaction with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web-based employer tool, CDC's LEAN Works!, which provides evidence-based recommendations and promising practices for obesity prevention and control at worksites.

Design: This study examined employers' natural usage (i.e.

Ten modifiable health risk factors are linked to more than one-fifth of employer-employee health care spending.

An underlying premise of the Affordable Care Act provisions that encourage employers to adopt health promotion programs is an association between workers' modifiable health risks and increased health care costs. Employers, consultants, and vendors have cited risk-cost estimates developed in the 1990s and wondered whether they still hold true. Examining ten of these common health risk factors in a working population, we found that similar relationships between such risks and total medical costs documented in a widely cited study published in 1998 still hold.

Strategies for strengthening the evidence base for employee health promotion programs.

Employee health promotion programs have been a visible facet of the American workplace for more than 30 years. During that time, a substantial amount of research on best practices has been conducted, but because of a lack of significant public investment in research funding there is still much to be done. Most researchers and practitioners familiar with the literature recognize the need to strengthen the evidence base for the field.

Second-year results of an obesity prevention program at the Dow Chemical Company.

Objective: Evaluate innovative, evidence-based approaches to organizational/supportive environmental interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of obesity among Dow employees after 2 years of implementation.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study design compared outcomes for two levels of intervention intensity with a control group. Propensity scores were used to weight baseline differences between intervention and control subjects.

The relationship between modifiable health risk factors and medical expenditures, absenteeism, short-term disability, and presenteeism among employees at novartis.

Objective: To quantify the impact of health risks on medical care and productivity costs in an employed population.

Methods: Health risk, medical care, and productivity data were obtained for 5875 Novartis employees in 2005-2006. Factor analysis was performed to identify relationships among health risks.

First-year results of an obesity prevention program at The Dow Chemical Company.

Objective: To examine first-year results from a workplace environmental obesity prevention program at The Dow Chemical Company.

Methods: A quasi-experimental cohort study was conducted among employees at nine treatment worksites (n = 8013) who received environmental weight management interventions and three control worksites (n = 2269). Changes in employees' weight, body mass index (BMI), and other health risks were examined using chi2 and t-tests.

Do prevention or treatment services save money? The wrong debate.

Health improvements and cost savings are achievable by providing targeted, evidence-based, and cost-effective health promotion and disease prevention programs that reduce modifiable risk factors, often the cause of costly chronic diseases. Adopting commonsense health practices does not require expensive technology, medication, specialty training, or elaborate treatment facilities. Instituting environmental, policy, and normative interventions, in addition to individual behavior change programs, can shift our thinking about how we pay for health.

Baseline characteristics of workers at ten New York City employers recruited for a private-public research collaborative.

Objective: To describe a public-private collaborative and present results from the administration of a baseline health risk assessment (HRA).

Methods: A custom-designed HRA was made available to 31,535 New York workers, and 5539 (17.6%) completed the survey.