Help/Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is the audience for this toolkit?
• What does the toolkit offer?
• How do I use the toolkit?  What kinds of employee health programs are included in this toolkit?
• Does the toolkit have information specific to industry sectors (e.g., manufacturing, trade, construction) or employer sizes?
• How do I know these recommendations will work?
• How does a company implement these programs?
• Are there step-by-step program instructions?
• Where can I get help in implementing employee health programs?
• How can I make a business case for these programs to my company leadership?
• How much up-front investment is required for these health programs?
• Where can I find information on specific health topics and issues?
• Will this toolkit be useful to individual employees?
• Is there a cost to use the toolkit?
• How up to date is the information in the toolkit?
• Does the toolkit provide medical advice?

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Who is the audience for this toolkit?

The toolkit is designed to educate business managers, human resource staff, corporate wellness managers, and public health professionals working with employers on active approaches to improving employee health, such as changes in health care benefits or on-site health education programs.

It is not designed to directly inform employees or clinicians on health promotion and disease prevention.

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What does the toolkit offer?

The toolkit provides a wide range of information, tools, resources, and guidance for employers and allows a reader to search by topics of interest. For example:

• The assessment module provides basic instruction on data collection and analysis of employee health and health costs; sample interview forms and other data collection instruments; and links to additional free resources, most of them web-based
• The planning/workplace governance module provides recommendations and guidance on organizational planning such as building an employee health program infrastructure or developing communications campaigns that are critical to building and sustaining the program’s success
• The implementation module provides recommendations on evidence-based interventions and strategies for 14 different specific health concerns, such as diabetes or physical activity that can be used in developing an employee health program. These recommendations include lists of real examples and free program resources
• The evaluation module can be used to identify whether an employee health program is improving employee health, productivity, and morale; and suggests specific questions to assess program effectiveness

 

How do I use the toolkit?  What kinds of employee health programs are included in this toolkit?

This toolkit provides suggestions for:

• Health-related programs such as classes, seminars or competitions frequently provided on-site at the workplace that are opportunities available to employees at the workplace or through outside organizations to begin, change or maintain health behaviors
• Health-related policies such as tobacco-free campuses that are formal or informal written statements designed to protect or promote employee health. Supportive workplace health policies affect large groups of workers simultaneously and make adopting healthy behaviors much easier. They can also create and foster a company culture of health
• Health benefits refer to health insurance coverage and other services or discounts regarding health provided as part of an employee benefits package such as coverage of nutrition counseling for employees with diabetes
• Environmental support refers to the physical factors at and nearby the workplace that help protect and enhance employee health such as easily accessible stairwells to encourage physical activity

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Does the toolkit have information specific to industry sectors (e.g., manufacturing, trade, construction) or employer size?

In general, the toolkit information is not specialized to individual business sectors or sizes. However, some of the listed resources may be more specific to a particular industry sector than others or be more or less practical based on employer size. The wide range of possible interventions and strategies recommended to employers in the toolkit provide a variety of potential options to employers of all sectors and sizes that can be selected based on the individual needs and resources of each employer.

 

How do I know these recommendations will work?

Guarantees can not be made that any of these approaches will work for a specific business. However, the recommendations provided in the toolkit are based on scientific evidence, research, practice and/or assessment by national recognized authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Task Force for Clinical Preventive Services and the Task Force for Community Preventive Services.

 

How does a company implement these programs?

For employers and wellness staff interested in developing a specific employee health program, such as a tobacco cessation campaign, the implementation module provides recommendations on evidence-based interventions and strategies for 14 different specific health concerns, such as diabetes or physical activity that can be used in developing an employee health program. These recommendations include lists of real examples and free program resources.

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Are there step-by-step program instructions?

Most of the topic modules do not provide details of program implementation.  However, many list resources that do offer detailed instructions for specific kinds of programs.

 

Where can I get help in implementing employee health programs?

Each health module provides extensive list of tools, resources, guidance, recommendations, and references for obtaining more information on the health topic and identifying helpful organizations.

 

How can I make a business case for these programs to my company leadership?

The making the business case section provides information on recognizing evidence-based recommendations and collecting data for your specific company to make a business case for the usefulness of health programs, including considerations of worker productivity, employee morale, and corporate image. In addition, the evaluation module contains a number of cost calculators to assess the economic impact of specific health topics such as depression or physical inactivity. 

 

How much up-front investment is required for these health programs?

The broad variety of options allows employers to identify program options that fit their employee health budget, including everything from employee poster campaigns on influenza vaccination to on-site fitness facilities to encourage physical activity.

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Where can I find information on specific health topics and issues?

The health topics addressed section is a good starting point to find information for the 14 specific topics covered in the toolkit. This page is organized into two major components for each health topic: 1) an implementation strategies module for information on specific interventions and strategies related to that topic; and 2) an evaluation measures module for information on evaluating the impact of employee health programs related to that topic. Each health topic module lists additional resources and organizations that provide information on that health topic or related topics.

 

Will this toolkit be useful to individual employees?

The toolkit is designed for employer audiences rather than for providing health information directly to employees.  However, there are many listed resources, such as brochures and posters, which are designed for direct employee use.

 

Is there a cost to use the toolkit?

No, use of the toolkit is entirely free to all readers.

How up to date is the information in the toolkit?

The toolkit was developed based on the most recent evidenced-based information from scientific publications and national reports. CDC will review and update the toolkit information regularly.

Does the toolkit provide medical advice?

The toolkit is not designed to provide medical advice on specific health problems. However, much of its information comes from national organizations that develop standards of care, such as the U.S. Task Force for Clinical Preventive Services.

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