The health and cost benefits of work site health-promotion programs
- PMID: 18173386
- DOI: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090930
The health and cost benefits of work site health-promotion programs
Abstract
We review the state of the art in work site health promotion (WHP), focusing on factors that influence the health and productivity of workers. We begin by defining WHP, then review the literature that addresses the business rationale for it, as well as the objections and barriers that may prevent sufficient investment in WHP. Despite methodological limitations in many available studies, the results in the literature suggest that, when properly designed, WHP can increase employees' health and productivity. We describe the characteristics of effective programs including their ability to assess the need for services, attract participants, use behavioral theory as a foundation, incorporate multiple ways to reach people, and make efforts to measure program impact. Promising practices are noted including senior management support for and participation in these programs. A very important challenge is widespread dissemination of information regarding success factors because only approximately 7% of employers use all the program components required for successful interventions. The need for more and better science when evaluating program outcomes is highlighted. Federal initiatives that support cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analyses are stressed, as is the need to invest in healthy work environments, to complement individual based interventions.
Similar articles
-
Workplace health promotion for older workers: a systematic literature review.BMC Health Serv Res. 2016 Sep 5;16 Suppl 5(Suppl 5):329. doi: 10.1186/s12913-016-1518-z. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016. PMID: 27609070 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Promoting health at the workplace: challenges of prevention, productivity, and program implementation.N C Med J. 2006 Nov-Dec;67(6):417-24. N C Med J. 2006. PMID: 17393702 Review.
-
Leadership in workplace health promotion projects: 1- and 2-year effects on long-term work attendance.Eur J Public Health. 2007 Oct;17(5):471-6. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckm004. Epub 2007 Feb 16. Eur J Public Health. 2007. PMID: 17307747
-
Health promotion and disease prevention: a look at demand management programs.EBRI Issue Brief. 1996 Sep;(177):1-14. EBRI Issue Brief. 1996. PMID: 10161533
-
Health promotion at the workplace.AAOHN J. 1989 Oct;37(10):412-22. AAOHN J. 1989. PMID: 2506873
Cited by
-
Group-level workplace interventions to improve mental health in low control, high-demand office-based jobs. A scoping review.Ann Work Expo Health. 2024 Apr 22;68(4):335-350. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxae012. Ann Work Expo Health. 2024. PMID: 38489824 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Does Organizational Commitment to Mental Health Affect Team Processes? A Longitudinal Study.J Healthc Leadersh. 2023 Nov 23;15:339-353. doi: 10.2147/JHL.S429232. eCollection 2023. J Healthc Leadersh. 2023. PMID: 38020722 Free PMC article.
-
Factors Associated with Depression, Anxiety, and Somatic Symptoms among International Salespeople in the Medical Device Industry: A Cross-Sectional Study in China.Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Jul 31;11(15):2174. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11152174. Healthcare (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37570414 Free PMC article.
-
Factors associated with blue-collar workers' participation in Worksite Health Promotion Programs: a scoping literature review.Health Promot Int. 2023 Jun 1;38(3):daad052. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daad052. Health Promot Int. 2023. PMID: 37379570 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Employees' Baseline Food Choices and the Effect of a Workplace Intervention to Promote Healthy Eating: Secondary Analysis of the ChooseWell 365 Randomized Controlled Trial.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2023 Nov;123(11):1586-1595.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2023.05.024. Epub 2023 May 29. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2023. PMID: 37257691 Clinical Trial.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources