Don’t Miss the Boat if there is the Potential for Grant Money for Your Wellness-Health Promotion Program

The key ingredient in starting or expanding a wellness program is mostly about getting the funding for the program.

According to the report “Grant Funding For Wellness and Health Promotion” the kinds of wellness programs being funded include:

• weight loss and exercise intervention for obese persons with chronic illnesses;
• health screening programs;
• Walk4Lfie;
• disease prevention;
• nutrition classes;
• fitness programming;
• preventing tobacco use and smoking cessation;
• childhood obesity prevention;
• school-based healthy lifestyles programs;
• community wellness centers; and
• the purchase of exercise equipment.

“If you want money from corporations today, you must come up with an investment
opportunity – a reason for the companies to invest in your cause, something that will bring
them definite benefits,” said an official with the Foundation Center Library network.

“Grant Funding for Wellness and Health Promotion Programs” is a funding sampler aimed to serve wellness and health promotion professionals engaged in such non-profit organizations as college and universities, hospitals, community-based initiatives and other non-profit organizations.

(Full disclosure our organization publishes this popular resource.)

For information on the report Grant Funding for Wellness and Health Promotion Programs click now on: http://bit.ly/awcbx1

 

Are Some Smokers Actually Healthy?

So, Are Some Smokers Actually Healthy?
I am curious…As a wellness professional, do you consider someone who smokes to be healthy, asked a member of our Wellness Manager Discussion Group.

That simple question stirred up quite a debate among the wellness professionals.

What started the debate was a recent blog post on BenefitsPro.com reported on a British workforce survey where 42 percent of the regular smokers reported they were healthy or very healthy.

“That depends on whether you consider health the absence of immediate illness.

However that is a far cry from optimal health and responsible self-management,” said a veteran wellness professional.

“My vote would be that someone who smokes who thinks he or she is “very healthy” (and possibly even “healthy”) is simply showing that they aren’t close to ready to quit,” replied an expert in disease management.

I think most people agree that balance is healthy, said a member who runs a state wellness program. “However, there is no such thing as a “healthy balance” with tobacco,” she said. “There is no study that supports a little of tobacco in balance is ok and healthy.”

“There is no documented “safe or healthy” dose of tobacco. Furthermore, all people who smoke DO actually suffer ill effects from smoking. The ill effects may not develop into any official diagnosis or disease state in every smoker, but the ill effects most certainly happen as soon as the nicotine, smoke, carbon monoxide, and other carcinogenic chemicals absorb into tissues and blood,” she observed.

She noted that physical changes with arteries constricting and nicotine binding to receptors in brain happen within seconds of inhalation. “Just because you can’t see a person’s health decline on the inside and can’t have a diagnosis linked to smoking as the cause does not mean that a little smoking falls in the healthy category—even for the casual intermittent smoker.”

There is a quality of life issue too- sure maybe some won’t ever get a disease or die from smoking but the quality of their health will decline over time and they simply won’t feel as good as a nonsmoker, she wrote.

“I believe “some” could certainly be healthy and may even stay healthy over the long-term. A lot of health promotion is, to use a veterinarian term, “herd medicine.”

“Our recommendations and interventions come out of what is MOST likely to happen MOST of the time when a certain behavior is practiced. But just like someone who drinks alcohol could be healthy, or eats Big Macs could be healthy, refuses to wear their seat belts may never be in an accident, etc., so too could someone who smokes be the exception that makes the rule,” responded another long-time wellness and health promotion professional.

“BRAVO!! I agree!!” replied another member. “I have been successful entering this field because I don’t obsess. Employees “fear” the wellness professional that is policing their every move I am real and don’t expect our employees to be perfect. Obsession is not the equivalent to health. Balance is key. I am an example without being a treat.”

There were many more discussion posts and observations among the more than 1,500 members.

But to get back to the question – said another member “Absolutely not!

The Wellness Manager Discussion group for professionals is sponsored by the Wellness Management Information Center and Wellness Junction.com. It is free and hosted on Yahoo.

It is easy to join just enter your email address. Visit: http://www.wellnessjunction.com/forum

Taking on the Perennial ‘Proving the ROI of My Program’ Issue

Quantifying the return on investment (ROI) of their wellness program remains a serious concern for workplace wellness managers, according to our ongoing Wellness Management Leadership Surveys.

But senior management is looking at wellness and health promotion professionals to come up with measures that reinforce their wellness program is worth it, is an good investment and is helping to save the company money.

Wellness managers over the years have told us that they continue to be challenged by the need to document the value of their programs to top management and prove their employer is “getting the bang for the buck,” from what health promotion programs promise.

In today’s business environment, every department in an organization must continue to justify its existence. But it seems that wellness managers have hurdles to overcome in successfully gaining understanding and support by top management, if concerns expressed by managers in our leadership surveys are an indication.

Besides attempting to measure their own program’s ROI, wellness professional are always on the lookout for information on new studies on the ROI of wellness programs.

Compelling data in favor of wellness programs came courtesy of Health Affairs, in which a study was published regarding cost savings from workplace wellness programs vis-a-vis medical cost and absenteeism reduction ROIs.

In an analysis from the Healthcare Breakfast Club, a blog from Harvard Business School students Robin Tang, Umair Khan, and Ambar Bhattacharyya, literature shows that the medical cost ROI is $3.27:$1.00, and the ROI on absenteeism reduction is $2.73:$1.00.

Employees who participate in workplace health promotion programs miss fewer workdays than those who choose not to participate, with the decrease in absenteeism translating into a cost savings of nearly $16 for each dollar spent on the program, another study by Brigham Young University (BYU) researchers found.

The percentage of companies successfully measuring ROI for health and wellness programs has “sharply increased” over the years, from 14 percent in 2007 to 73 percent in 2009, the most recent year available.

Some 83 percent of those who have measured say the programs return better than 1:1 on their investment, according to Health2 Resources

In growing numbers, employers are rewarding goal achievement during and after health and wellness program completion, the company said.

“Employers are becoming more sophisticated about measuring the return-on-investment from wellness and disease management programs, and today’s economic outlook dictates that these programs bring a positive ROI,” said Sean Sullivan, president and CEO of the Institute for Health and Productivity Management.

“No other kind of health management program has been given the same scrutiny as health and productivity management in measuring its effectiveness in reducing total health-related costs, including sick days, disability claims and impaired performance at work,” he said.

Source: Wellness Program Management Advisor, Wellness Management Information Center Resources:

“Wellness Program Return-on-Investment: Benchmarks, Strategies, and Case Studies for Proving the Value of Your Wellness Initiatives”

http://www.healthresourcesonline.com/edu/wellnessroi.htm

“Secrets to Wellness and Health Promotion ROI: How Successful
Managers Attract and Motivate Increased Participation in Their Programs,”

http://www.healthresourcesonline.com/wellness/roi.htm

Copyright 2011, Wellness Management Information Center

Moderate Intensity Walking Means 100 Steps Per Minute

The benefits of moderate physical activity to general health and well-being are well known. It is recommended that people engage in 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity physical activity, equivalent to 30 minutes each day 5 times a week. Although pedometers are widely used as a physical activity monitoring tool, they are unable to measure activity intensity.

Researchers have determined that a rate of at least 100 steps per minute achieves moderate intensity activity.

Therefore a simple pedometer-based recommendation of 3000 steps in 30 minutes can get people started on a meaningful exercise program.

While being monitored for oxygen uptake during walking on a treadmill, 58 woman and 39 men completed 4 6-minute sessions at different treadmill speeds between 65 and 110 meters per minute. All wore pedometers and their heart rates were recorded. Using 3 METs, or metabolic equivalents, as the minimum level of oxygen demand which approximates moderate exercise, participants were monitored to determine whether they had reached the moderate-exercise level at a given treadmill speed. From these data, the researchers found that for men, step counts associated with walking at 3 METs were between 92 and 102 steps per minute. For women, the range was between 91 and 115 steps per minute.

Although a main finding of this study is that considerable error exists when using pedometer step counts to measure METs during treadmill walking, with only 50%󈞨% of individuals correctly classified as walking at moderate intensity using step rate alone, the authors suggest that the pedometer can be used as a simple technique for anyone trying to meet exercise guidelines.

Lead investigator Simon J. Marshall, PhD, School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, states, “We believe that these data support a general recommendation of walking at more than 100 steps per minute on level terrain to meet the minimum of the moderate-intensity guideline. Because health benefits can be achieved with bouts of exercise lasting at least 10 minutes, a useful starting point is to try and accumulate 1000 steps in 10 minutes, before building up to 3000 steps in 30 minutes. Individuals can monitor their progress using a simple pedometer and a wristwatch. The use of a single and simple pedometer-based guideline that is easy both to remember and measure may be more effective in a health communication strategy than the promotion of multiple guidelines and, therefore, messages.”

The research was funded by an SIP research grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the San Diego Prevention Research Center.

The results of the study was published in the May 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Looking for the Top 10 Best Books for Workplace Wellness Managers

Help us build the “Top 10 Best Books and Resources for Workplace Wellness Professionals.”
Its about time wellness professionals had their own top 10 best book list!
Share the titles of the books that you have found the most useful for developing and managing your workplace wellness program.
www.wellnessjunction.com/bestbooks.htm

Measuring the Effectiveness of Workplace Wellness Programs

Worksite-based wellness programs can play an important role in improving the health of Vermont’s employees,according to a recent study conducted jointly by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont(BCBSVT) and the University of Vermont for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study sought to determine the relative effectiveness of three worksite wellness programs, and was based on a 30-month research project involving more than two-dozen Vermont employers.

“The news,” said Robert Ross, principal investigator in the study,”is that employers who invest in any type of wellness program or initiative will see results. More programming produced better results, but any type of programming at all — even merely screening individuals for weight loss and other health benefits — improved employees’ chances of success in meeting goals.”

The project compared the cost effectiveness of three distinct types of wellness programming in the workplace:

* The “tailored health services approach,” where employees participated in selected programs (e.g., nutrition and weight management, physical activity, stress reduction and tobacco use) based on the results of health risk assessments they completed online.

* The “altered worksite settings approach,” where employees benefit from changes in the physical, informational, nutritional, and other environments of their worksites, e.g. healthy choices at the cafeteria, signs promoting stair climbing and noontime walking, negotiated discounts at area exercise facilities.

* The combined approach, which integrated both the “health services” and “altered settings” approaches.

The study assigned employees at 28 worksites throughout Vermont to four groups — one for each of the wellness program types above and also a control group of worksites whose employees received no intervention at all but were measured at the same intervals as were the study’s other groups.

All study participants were measured for biometrics such as body mass index, cholesterol and weight loss at the beginning of the project, and then at six, 12 and 18 months after launch of the wellness programs. All received their measurements at each interval.

“The combined approach ranked first in the study results,” Ross reported. “This is not surprising, given that participants in this group received more services. Unexpectedly, though, the altered worksite setting approach ranked a close second to the combined approach. This program actually outperformed the combined approach on four of the nine factors measured and generally outperformed the tailored health services approach.”

Also against prediction, the control group saw real, positive changes from the study. Despite the fact that control group participants received no services, they produced measurable health improvement on their own.

“Just knowing that they were going to be measured likely drove these individuals to change their lifestyles,” Ross posits. “This points to the importance of accountability in a wellness program. People are more likely to change behavior when they’re accountable to a third party — a peer, a doctor, a wellness coordinator, etc.”

Catherine Hamilton, BCBSVT’s vice president of strategic planning who managed the project for BCBSVT, pointed to the importance of this study during a time when employers are seeking advice on which wellness programs work best.

“I think the first piece of advice to employers is, ‘Do something – it will make a difference,’” Ross stated. “Armed with this important study’s statistics, employers can now make scientific decisions on how best to use the resources they have available to spend on worksite wellness.”

Address: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, 445 Industrial Lane, Berlin, VT 05601; (800) 242-2583, www.bcbsvt.com.

This report first appeared in Wellness Program Management Advisor published by the Wellness Management Information Center.
Copyright 2010

How to develop lasting behavior change among your employees\members

Posts related to lifestyle and behavioral issues have come up 447 times in discussions among members of our group.

Behavioral change is a key goal of any worksite wellness program.

That’s why I believe you will be interested in our upcoming wellness management education and training program “How to Help Employees\Members Adopt Healthy Behavior Changes That Last.”

The 60-Minute program is Thursday, September 16, 2010, 1:30-2:30 PM EDT.

Michael White, a Partner in WELL Street, will be the presenter. Certificates of attendance are awarded.

This will be Part 4 of our 4-Pass Workplace Wellness Management Education and Training Series that has had outstanding evaluations by participants.

For details on next Thursday’s program, please click on this link now:

http://www.healthresourcesonline.com/edu/Creating-Behavior-Change.htm

Organizational Readiness for Prevention

Interview with Dr. Joel Bennett

Question: What do you mean by “organizational readiness” or “prevention readiness?”

Answer: My quick answer is real behavioral change is Incremental, not Seismic. Readiness refers to the capacity of the organization—especially relevant key players (leaders, wellness coordinators, health champions)—to listen to and proactively respond to the unique health needs of its members. Such responsiveness is driven by the climate of the organization and its openness to change.

There is a  great deal of theory and research on organizational change and, during the 1980s, a whole field of “change management” specialists and consultants came into being and grew. At their best, change strategies are systematic and intentional “planned changes” that enhance or preserve the well-being of a company (efficiency, profits, AND employee health). One insight that came from these efforts is that “off the shelf” programs (learning, training, or otherwise) that come from one company or vendor may be less effective in another setting unless the program is modified or adapted to best fit the new setting.

Put another way, some workplaces are more ready to change than others and, subsequently, more ready to receive, implement, and benefit from wellness program. Your “best fit” is enhanced when you match the program to the readiness level and incrementally “nudge” well-being.

Question: Why is it important for workplaces to consider their level of readiness as part of their workplace health promotion efforts?

Answer: It makes little financial sense to throw money at a problem that is not ready for help. Changes occurs gradually, incrementally. The time you take to understand readiness now will save money later. You think more carefully about where you are spending your money.

Let’s use the analogy of a cigarette smoker but you can refer to any addictive process. (By the way, most of the healthcare costs employers face are due to addictive processes: overeating, tobacco, alcohol, and workaholism). If the smoker is using tobacco at a high rate, say two packs a day, you will have a hard time convincing them to quit completely than if you (a) help him/her identify when and how they can reduce their use, and (b) ask them to tell you why (costs/benefits) they should reduce use—i.e., help them to motivate themselves.

To do so, you – as a coach or therapist – have to discover their own interest in stopping an old (unhealthy) behavior or starting a new (healthy) behavior. This discovery depends upon your ability to listen to their interest in stopping—their needs, desires, values, hopes, etc. If they are in denial, your response (your strategy) will be entirely different than if they are eager to change.

Similar, when it comes to the entire workplace, you run a financial-risk if you just give everyone the same program because it is new, fancy, web-based, colorful, etc.. Many workplaces are realizing that there is no magic bullet. You have to listen to worker needs and motivate them where they are. Readiness levels tell you where they are.

Question:  So, is readiness assessment only useful for those who are just beginning programs?

Answer: Planning is always good. First, workplaces are dynamic; they keep changing. Your readiness can actually change—move forward or backward or follow a cycle.

Remember the change theory I spoke about earlier? Organizations can sometimes “freeze” in their readiness and the best investment is helping them to be more open (“unfreezing”) to receiving programs than in just giving them programs.

We call that capacity building. Second, the workforce is heterogeneous or diverse. Some groups, worksites, departments, stores are more ready than others. In fact, some organizations have a “best practice” unit in wellness that has just naturally evolved without any outside vendor or program. It is always better to tap your own internal resources.

You may have a diamond in the rough. So your assessment should be done on different units. Third, whether you are new or old it is always good to refresh. We sometimes make assumptions that the ways things are are the “way things are” and fail to test our assumptions.

Question: What are the core features of readiness?

Answer: We have identified five core cultural features that we think pertain to any workplace. There are other important features concerning the wellness champion or internal advocate as well, but these five have to do with factors inside the work setting.

First, and most basic, what kinds of resources and materials do you have? This includes budget, space, and communication capacity.

Second, what kind of internal support do you have from leadership and administration? Companies can make the mistake of allocating budget to program materials before they gain senior support as well as coworker attitudes for the program.

Third, is the climate at work proactive or reactive? This goes back to the “change management” ideas and “resistance to change.” Your program will look much different if you already have effective policies in place (e.g., safety, drug-free workplace) that are respected and you face problems head on.

Fourth, adaptability. This is my favorite and it has to do with a willingness to grow, to face challenges, and to experiment.

Fifth, and this ties into the learning and training function: Do supervisors, co-workers, and policies make your workplace a learning organization?

Question: How will assessment benefit the business from an economic perspective? Does this have anything to do with return-on-investment?

Answer: Remember the smoking analogy and where to best leverage your communications. A readiness assessment can help you maximize your return-on-investment because you think more carefully about your current risks and strengths.

If your spending more time and money on materials and resources when you tend to be a very routine-oriented and reactive organization, you may want to re-think where your budget should go and create a phased approach. Spend more time talking to managers about the program, get them on board, have retreats, ask for their input into the program. This could yield a better return in the long-run.

Question: What do you need to do to be most successful with the data you collect in an assessment?

Answer: Action planning and Follow-up. Don’t just leave the data on the shelf. Come back to it 6- and 12-months later. Review the information with leadership and the key players I mentioned earlier.

Ask for their input and create a plan TOGETHER. This is key. If you focus on “meeting folks where they are” and plan accordingly, success will come. This will be more effective than just blindly launching a campaign.

In fact, campaigns can hurt you because workers may feel you are not really paying attention to their needs and feel you are coming “form left field.” You can generate more resistance. So, success comes from care and attention paid to “what is” – your current level of readiness.

Editor’s Note:  Joel B. Bennett is President of Organizational Wellness & Learning Systems, Fort Worth, Texas, 76107  817.921.4260 www.organizationalwellness.com

Dr. Bennett will present an educational program “Organizational Readiness For Workplace Wellness: Are You Ready? Thursday, August 19, 2010, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. EDT

For details on the program visit: http://www.healthresourcesonline.com/edu/Organizational-Workplace-Wellness.htm

The program has been organized by the Wellness Management Information Center.

Workplace Wellness And Social Media – Testing The Waters

Over the past months the editors of Wellness Program Management Advisor have been testing the waters of what is termed “social media” – LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Here is our status report:

We have more than 1050 members of our Workplace Wellness Management Group on LinkedIn. New members sign up just about every day.

On Twitter we have 550 followers thus far without actively promoting it.

Over on Facebook we created a page for the Wellness Management Information Center. Posts on our “wall” include new items of interest, information about new blog posts, Tweets from Twitter, etc. So far, we have 130 ‘fans’ and could use a few more.

From the beginning I had the feeling that Facebook, Twitter and the others can be useful tools for wellness professionals to reach your audiences in different ways. Now I am more convinced than ever that this will work in time.

New ‘Tools’ For Wellness Programs  

Yes, there is a lot of “drivel” on Twitter with many posting too darn many Tweets with little or no substance. Who knows, Twitter may still be only a passing fad. But it is certainly drawing large numbers of professionals who are connecting and sharing in new ways.

Facebook combines the ‘what’s-on-your-mind’ idea of Twitter with its wall posts, and also provides opportunities to post to events, share discussions, photos, videos, ideas, and links.

I can see where many nominally tech savvy wellness managers could easily take advantage of the various tools on Facebook to help expand the reach of their programs. But Facebook also has a lot of people posting who just have too much time on their hands.

We have seen several professional associations using Twitter to make brief announcements about programs they are sponsoring for their members.

Many of the most highly regarded health organizations maintain an active presence on Twitter including the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, American Diabetes Association, YMCAs, Kaiser Permanente, the Lung Association, the American Cancer Society and Yale-New Haven Hospital. There are many more.

Here are links to the ‘social media’ activities which we sponsor where we really are reaching new audiences:

We are known as Wellness Adviser on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/wellnessadviser

Wellness Management Information Center on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/WellnessManagement

Workplace Wellness Management on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=1456627&trk=anet_ug_grppro

Wellness Manager Discussion Group http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/WellnessManager

If you ask me, our Wellness Manager Discussion Group on Yahoo with more than 1,400 members is the granddaddy of social media in the wellness professional universe.

Come Join us.  Join in the networking and problem solving.

Bob Jenkins

What Strategies Do You Use To Measure Employee Engagement In Workplace Wellness

This question was posed by a member of our Workplace Wellness Management Group over on LinkedIn.

It’s a good question.

As you know, workplace wellness managers are always concerned about employee participation in programs.

It begs the question – how do you measure employee engagement in workplace wellness programs? So we posted the question on the Wellness Managers’ Discussion Group on Yahoo.

The answers were rich in information and helpfulness:

“I think it is important to first define terms. Are employee engagement and participation being used interchangeably because they can also mean different things,” said William McPeck, director of Employee Health and Safety for the Maine State Government and
a long-time member of the group who has multiple wellness-related certifications.

“Measuring participation is fairly straight forward – the number and percentage of employees who register, attend and complete a multi-session program, as an example, can all be tracked and measured,” he wrote.

“I think measuring engagement is trickier,” he continued. “While there are tools out there to measure employee engagement, I am not sure they specifically address wellness program engagement. As I think about wellness engagement, I am thinking that pre- and post knowledge testing might be used as a measure of learning engagement, while pre and post changes to individual behaviors might be a measure of engagement from the behavior change perspective. I am sure there are others the list can come up with as well,” Bill continued.

I think the same can be applied to the measurement of a healthy organizational culture, he said. “I would be less inclined to use health claims data as a measure of cultural change because of the variables that impact health claims and because I think there are better tools and measures available to use.”

Changes to a health culture audit over time might be an appropriate measure of culture change, as well as the changes reflected in employee cultural surveys over time, Bill believes. “I suspect that the organizational culture literature might be of some assistance with measurement suggestions in this area as well.”

Richard Adler, MD, a physician member of the group said, “The only effective way you can measure the value of any wellness program is to measure outcomes. Sure, one can count the number of participants and one can actually observe people participating, but actual outcomes are the ultimate measure of effectiveness.”

A monitoring process has little or no value and confuses the issue, he added.

“The easiest, cheapest and most significant outcomes to measure are: waist circumference, blood pressure, HgbA1c, C-reactive protein, triglyceridelevel, HDL level,” he said.

“Active participation + Effective engagement = Desired Outcomes.”

Robin Foust, a consultant in wellness, wrote: “We use a system (www.myCatalyst.com) for our clients that captures data related to participation in programs by program type – no matter how many vendors are involved – and if they are active or the case has closed; risk levels for those who took a health risk assessment, lab/biometric data; and in our physician guided care coordination networks, we can also capture other outcomes and biomarker data for the participants through data import and/or through outcome-based codes.”

“With risk information,” said Jennifer Jolley president of Protocol Driven Healthcare, Inc., “we are able to track and report migration of risk by percentages. One factor we also capture is tenure which is critical to making sure participants have had enough time to get those desired outcomes or performance targets. If the population size remains stable and is large enough we are also able to track costs and trends.”

Dr. David Rearick said he “would add to the list of outcomes: Health Risks i.e. total number of health risks within the population, average number of risks per employee, % of overweight, % of tobacco users, % of sedentary etc. But, you have to include the objective biometric outcomes in your measurements, especially if you are going to incentivize for good health-you need to measure objective data. Dr. Rearick is VP of Medical Management for Strategic Benefit Solutions.

Links: WellnessManager Discussion Group on Yahoo, http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/WellnessManager/

Workplace Wellness Management Group on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1456627&trk=anet_ug_hm