When staffing your health promotion program you need to consider whether to hire a wellness staff or contract with wellness professionals from outside your corporation.

Small and medium size workplaces don’t normally have a wellness professional on staff. When your workplace is in this category, you’ll need to contract with providers outside your corporation.

Large businesses have a few choices. They can hire a staff solely for the wellness program, they can contract with outside wellness providers, or they can use a combination of internal staff and outside providers.

When choosing  a provider some key questions in the areas of staff, health promotion program structure, process, and effectiveness need to be addressed. Each of these key questions is discussed in the following sections.

Health Promotion Corporation Staff

Health experts become wellness experts when they are trained in the full range of wellness activities. Wellness experts are generalists who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and schooling.

They could be nurses, dietitians, health educators, counselors, exercise physiologists, or have other backgrounds. But as well to their primary training, they know something about all wellness topics, including smoking, stress, exercise, and nutrition.

They also know how to engage and support people  in making and sustaining health improvements and have good people  skills.

Typically, wellness experts at workplaces fall into three broad categories, wellness screeners, wellness counselors, and wellness instructors.

o  Wellness screeners introduce personnel to the wellness program, take health measurements, collect health-related information, provide initial counseling, and help personnel define for themselves what they need and want in a wellness program.

o  Health Promotion counselors work with personnel after the screening to help them develop and carry out a plan to reduce their risks and improve their health.

o  Health Promotion instructors teach courses and minigroups on different health topics.

A wellness program in a small organization may be staffed by a single staff person who fills all three roles. Larger worksites will use different individuals  to fill these roles.

When selecting  staff or selecting  among wellness companies, ask the following questions -

o  Do prospective staff members have a range of health backgrounds that will provide appropriate expertise in the topics to be addressed?

o  Have prospective personnel functioned well as wellness screeners, wellness counselors, and/or wellness instructors?

o  Will this staff include individuals  from the racial and ethnic backgrounds found in your staff member population?

o  Is each worker comfortable with the range of backgrounds found in your worker population, and able to communicate effectively with the various social and educational levels of your employees?

o  Do staff have a warm, but expert, counseling style when interacting with employees?

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An annual plan for the major wellness programs and activities is a useful management tool. This is an excellent wellness committee task. Often an activity and wellness theme per month is offered to staff.

Some businesses pick to follow a National Health Observances calendar which offers advantages.  The materials created by these various national health businesses are very credible.  The materials are ordinarily high quality and available free or at a nominal cost.

The corporation benefits from additional publicity that occurs in various media throughout the community related to the national observance. for planning suggestions you might want to utilize the HOPE Publications Health Promotion Resource Developing Guide available for free at this Web site.

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A Health Risk Assessment (HRA)  is sometimes used combined with a medical testing.  An Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is a computerized assessment tool which looks at an individual’s family history, health status, and lifestyle.

An Health Risk Assessment (HRA) seeks to identify precursors associated with premature death or serious disease and quantifies the probable impact for each individual.

An Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) instrument is derived from an understanding of the course of a disease. Based on this understanding, useful prediction instruments may be constructed to assess the health risks of an individual. Individuals with a higher number of health risks tend to have more serious health problems over time.

Drawing attention to their health risks can help clients reduce risk factors which lead to the onset of unnecessary illness and subsequent premature death.

The questionnaire covers lifestyle habits (such as use of tobacco, seat belt use, and exercise) and physical measures (such as cholesterol, blood pressure levels, height, and weight).

For accuracy, it is critical to obtain direct measures of blood pressure, cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol.  The HRA also provides recommendations and indicates what risks are modifiable. Types of measures to assess health risks are discussed under Screening Programs.

The impact of a health risk appraisal is much greater when it is given in-person, with immediate feedback to the customer. This also provides an opportunity to invite the customer’s participation in continuing health counseling and to gain their written consent to do pro-active outreach to them.

A health age may be computed based on the individual answers to the questionnaire and physiologic factors.  The health age may indicate the individual to be younger or older than their chronological age.

Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) programs are one the most prolific types of wellness activities utilized by corporations. Continuing research on HRAs is examining the efficacy of this tool.

One of the big advantages of this tool is that it can provide an aggregate group report of a corporation and could be utilized as an investigation tool.

Detailed information is available from the Society of Prospective Medicine (www.spm.org/desc.html) who publishes a handbook on HRAs.

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The most common screening performed in health promotion programs is heart health assessment.

The screening can include a written heart health test, blood pressure measurement, cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol test, glucose (blood sugar), weight, educational materials specific to diet, nutrition, exercise, cholesterol, tobacco use, and weight.

The health specialist conducting the screening then provides a consultation and assists set goals with the participant.

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The backbone of wellness programming at the workplace is health screening. It is the first major activity a business ought to do when first beginning a wellness program.

Biometric testing is often used combined with the administration of a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) .

The most effective way to screen is to utilize a health expert trained in wellness screening techniques and counseling to privately and individually assess participants.

This wellness professional takes a brief health history and measures blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol. With computerized cholesterol desktop analyzers, results are acquired in about four minutes.

Immediate feedback, consultation, and educational materials are provided. for those identified at-risk, follow-up appointments can be scheduled at this time.  The whole process takes about twenty minutes per individual.

The screening also provides an immediate opportunity to register participants in various health promotion programs based on their interests and identified health risks.

Health screening can be done annually and used to monitoring health risks within the worksite.

A health screening program needs to provide multiple opportunities for participation.  The service ought to be provided for all the various shifts of a company.  The screening program ought to be conducted in highly visible areas so the process can be observed.

Reluctant workers often like to be able to see what the wellness program is about before they participate. When wellness screeners are not busy, they ought to perform outreach going to areas where workers gather and attempt to recruit workers.

When well-planned and promoted, medical screening can attract participation rates of 60% to 100%. These high participation rates have a positive impact on senior level management producing support for further wellness programming.

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Objectives are broad-based statements about what the wellness program is expected to do.  The goal of the wellness program is to enhance the health of the individual and the organization. Objectives like mission statements provide direction in a wellness program.   

Goals are specific and provide a means of measurement of the health promotion program to determine effectiveness. There are two types of objectives, process and outcome.    

Process goals state the activities that need to occur to achieve a desired outcome.

Examples of process objectives are -

o  Number of participants screened

o  Number of participants in and completing health promotion programs

o  Satisfaction of health promotion program participants

o  Number of participants who were medically referred and saw their physician

o  Number of promotional activities

o  Number of participants seen in follow-up

Example of outcome goals are -

o  Number of participants who improved fitness level

o  Number of participants who decreased cholesterol level

o  Number of participants who lost weight, body fat

o  Number of participants who quit smoking

o  Number of participants with high blood pressure (BP) who reduced their blood pressure (BP)

o  Number of participants whose initial level of alcohol consumption put them at-risk who are no longer at-risk

o  Number of participants with risk factors who saw their doctor and are being treated for high blood pressure (BP) or cholesterol years later

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Wellness committees are important in that they create a sense of ownership in the health promotion program, and facilitate various tasks involved in health promotion programming at the worksite.

The committee must be composed of a cross-section of employees representing various occupations, levels, and subgroups with the business.

A common mistake is filling the committee with the most health/fitness-conscious individuals  in the corporation. Do not rely solely on volunteers to fill a committee. Be certain that your committee members have enough power in the corporation to run an effective wellness program.

The wellness committee is made up of workforce from the worksite. It oversees the wellness program and helps carry it out.

The committee ought to meet about once a month to review the previous month’s activities and plan future ones. When the wellness program is just beginning, the committee may meet on a weekly basis until things get going.

Committee members do not carry out medical procedures, counsel patrons, or handle confidential medical information. Health Promotion specialists perform these tasks.

In general, the committee’s duties fall into three areas –  planning, promoting, and helping to run health promotion programs.

Developing the health promotion programs can include -

o  Finding space for activities

o  Planning and organizing workplace-wide events like contests

o  Reviewing reports prepared by the health promotion program staff and making recommendations

Promoting the health promotion program can include -

o  Recruiting workforce to take part in screening and health promotion programs

o  Encouraging workers to take part in follow-up counseling

o  Organizing promotional strategies using newsletters, signs, bulletin boards, computers, and other media available within the worksite

Assisting to run the health promotion program can include -

o  Setting up equipment for various activities

o  Assisting to conduct worksite-wide activities

o  Monitoring all activities and analyzing  the performance of the specialist staff

o  Acting as wellness mentors to fellow workers

The size of the wellness committee are going to be dependent on the size of the organization. Choose members by asking day management to nominate or appoint staff.

Make an announcement through flyers, memos, and meetings to recruit potential members. Explain the purpose of the committee, duties and responsibilities, and the time commitment.

Recognize your wellness committee volunteers. Allow them to take part in wellness programs at a lowered cost. Hold appreciation breakfasts/lunches/dinners.

Print names of committee members on organization communications about the wellness program.

Purchase special T-shirts, caps, and buttons for them. Write letters to supervisors saying that you appreciate the member’s service. Create awards certificates for members.

The following can be used as a guide for committee size –    

o  Less than 300 employees   2 to 4

o  300 to 1,000 employees   4 to 6

o  1,000 personnel or more   6 to 12

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Effective health promotion programs recognize the importance of building a supportive cultural environment.  The workplace culture includes shared values/heartfelt beliefs about what is important. It includes social standards of expected and accepted behavior called “cultural norms.”

It includes peer support from family, friends, and peers. This support can help one adopt healthy lifestyles. Tools are available to audit a corporation.

The long-term success of any health promotion program is dependent on the corporate culture.

Some healthful culture signs in a organization are -

o  Employees communicate openly

o  Leaders support diversity and opinion

o  Employees have fun

o  Policies support wellness

o  Staff Members are encouraged to grow

o  Staff Members work together as a team

o  Employees’ skills and talents are matched to their jobs.

o  Flexible work schedules are available

o  Companys consider workers as their most valuable asset

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Effective wellness programs attempt to develop healthy worksite climates. A healthy worksite climate is one which encourages teamwork, cooperation, and empowerment of the individual.

Individuals  have a sense of community, a shared vision, and a positive outlook. Policies promote and support wellness efforts within the workplace.

o  Effective wellness programs identify ways that company policies and organizational traditions encourage wellness.

o  Effective health promotion programs work at the group and organizational level to build support for healthful lifestyle options.

o  Effective wellness programs set clear target objectives and objectives for the health betterment of the worksite.

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An initial medical testing can include a recent survey of employees’ interests as part of the assessment. Successful health promotion programs are designed to meet the needs and interests of the personnel.

The information you need to get from a recent survey depends on the scope of your wellness program. A sample survey could be acquired in the HOPE Publications Web site.

When you plan to adapt this sample survey or create your own survey, keep the following hints in mind -

o  Ask mostly closed-choice questions, in particular when you will be sending the survey to a large number of workers. Closed-choice questions provide specific choices and are easy to tabulate. You could want to use a computer for data entry and analysis.

o  Invite comments, suggestions and recommendations, or ask open-ended questions after the survey. Open-ended items are more challenging to summarize.

o  Include a brief explanatory cover letter with the survey with the signature of the organization president. Make certain to include a statement about confidentiality and anonymity.

o  Ask a group of representative employees to review the survey before it’s distributed. Find out if the questions will be understood by employees and won’t be objected to.

o  Include demographic information at the starting or end of the survey. Consider various ways that you might analyze the responses by demographic characteristics (gender, age, shift, site, department, etc.).

When considering who should get the survey, a simple rule is when you’ve under 500 personnel, everybody should receive one.  The public relations benefit of everybody receiving a recent survey could be significant.

Over 500 staff, a sample of the work population will suffice. A sample saves on costs and time. You might want to consider consulting with a statistician to determine an appropriate sample size for your workplace.

Needs surveys are confidential and anonymous; they do not request information that may identify a person.

Getting support from senior level management is critical to the success of the health promotion program.

One way to do this is to survey managers (see forms) and conduct interviews with decision-makers in the company. You can use the surveys here or make up your own.

When you decide to do your own, keep the survey short. It should not take more than ten minutes to complete.

The interview process can also serve as a means of educating management. Provide concise fact sheets on the benefits of wellness programs for management.

When surveys and interviews are completed, tally the surveys and write brief summaries of the interviews. Provide these reports to management.

Once completed present a brief executive summary to management. Highlight several intriguing findings that may be used immediately to make decisions about the health promotion program.

Utilize charts and graphs to make your points. Put together a detailed report for wellness committee members itemizing each response. Give a short article about the survey in the corporation newsletter.

The higher the response the more precise and reliable the results. A minimum response of 40 percent to 50 percent is acceptable.

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