Health Topics Addressed
Several studies have reviewed the leading physical and mental health conditions in terms of direct medical costs and lost productivity to U.S employers including several chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease), depression, and musculoskeletal disorders (e.g., back pain).1-2 With workers in America today spending more than one-third of their day on the job, employers are in a unique position to promote the health and safety of their employees. The use of effective workplace programs and policies can reduce health risks and improve the quality of life for the 138 million workers in the United States.3
The workplace provides many opportunities for promoting health and preventing disease and injury. Workplace health programs have the potential to influence social norms, establish health policies, promote healthy behaviors, improve employees’ health knowledge and skills, help employees get necessary health screenings, immunizations, and follow-up care, and reduce their on-the-job exposure to substances and hazards that can cause diseases and injury.
Potential interventions to be implemented and evaluation measures are described for many of the leading health topic concerns below. Each of these topics includes public health and clinical evidenced-based examples from the entire spectrum of opportunities to support workplace health promotion. Select any of these topics for in-depth discussion of topic-specific interventions and evaluation measures.
Health Topic |
Implementation Strategies |
Evaluation Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Health Behaviors | ||
| Alcohol & Substance Misuse | View | View |
| Nutrition | View | View |
| Physical Activity | View | View |
| Tobacco Use | View | View |
| Health Screening | ||
| Blood Pressure | View | View |
| Obesity (BMI) | View | View |
| Cancer-Breast | View | View |
| Cancer-Cervical | View | View |
| Cancer-Colorectal | View | View |
| Cholesterol | View | View |
| Type 2 Diabetes | View | View |
| Mental Health | ||
| Depression | View | View |
| Injury | ||
Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders & |
View | View |
Adult Immunization |
||
Influenza |
View | View |
Tools and Resources
- Leading by Example: Creating Healthy Communities through Corporate Engagement published in 2011 by the Partnership for Prevention features 19 businesses and business groups who are providing leadership and reaching out to improve the health and wellness of their communities providing many benefits to their organizations.
- Leading by Example: The Value of Worksite Health Promotion to Small- and Medium-sized Employers published in 2011 by the Partnership for Prevention provides best practices and strategies for creating or enhancing a worksite health promotion program as well as worksite health program descriptions from almost 20 small employers
- Healthy Workforce 2010: an Essential Health Promotion Sourcebook for employers, Large and Small Partnership for Prevention, Washington, D.C. 2001
- Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Guide to Community Preventive Services: Task Force Findings Published Through September 2009
- National Business Group on Health’s A Purchaser's Guide to Clinical Preventive Services: Moving Science into Coverage [PDF - 357KB]
Its chapter on leveraging benefits to promote community services encourages employers to educate their employees about preventive services, ensure employees use their health benefits package appropriately for preventive services, and increase preventive services access points
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