Worksite Health Promotion for Low-Wage Workers: A Scoping Literature Review.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine (1) What research has been done on health promotion interventions for low-wage workers and (2) what factors are associated with effective low-wage workers' health promotion programs. DATA SOURCE This review includes articles from PubMed and PsychINFO published in or before July 2016. Study Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria The search yielded 130 unique articles, 35 met the inclusion criteria (1) being conducted in the United States, (2) including an intervention or empirical data around health promotion among adult low-wage workers, and (3) measuring changes in low-wage worker health. DATA EXTRACTION Central features of the selected studies were extracted, including the theoretical foundation; study design; health promotion intervention content and delivery format; intervention-targeted outcomes; sample characteristics; and work, occupational, and industry characteristics. DATA ANALYSIS: Consistent with a scoping review, we used a descriptive, content analysis approach to analyze extracted data. All authors agreed upon emergent themes and 2 authors independently coded data extracted from each article. RESULTS: The results suggest that the research on low-wage workers' health promotion is limited, but increasing, and that low-wage workers have limited access to and utilization of worksite health promotion programs. CONCLUSION: Workplace health promotion programs could have a positive effect on low-wage workers, but more work is needed to understand how to expand access, what drives participation, and which delivery mechanisms are most effective.