Economic Analysis of the Return-on-Investment of a Worksite Wellness Program for a Large Multistate Retail Grocery Organization.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to measure the return on investment (ROI) of the Price Chopper/Golub Corporation employee population who participate in wellness programs available to them. METHODS: Medical claims data, risk level, and presence of comorbidities such as diabetes and heart disease were compared in a matched retrospective cohort of participants and nonparticipants, with 2008, 2009, and 2010 serving as measurement years. Program costs and estimated savings were used to calculate an ROI of $4.33 for every dollar invested in wellness programs. RESULTS: Reductions in medical costs were observed at several risk and participation levels, with an average savings of $133 per participant and a 3-year savings estimate of $285,706. CONCLUSIONS: The positive ROI and savings estimate indicate that wellness interventions added economic value to Price Chopper/Golub Corporation.

Strategies for strengthening the evidence base for employee health promotion programs.

Employee health promotion programs have been a visible facet of the American workplace for more than 30 years. During that time, a substantial amount of research on best practices has been conducted, but because of a lack of significant public investment in research funding there is still much to be done. Most researchers and practitioners familiar with the literature recognize the need to strengthen the evidence base for the field. In this edition of The Art of Health Promotion we examine the primary recommendations emerging from a recent federally sponsored effort to identify strategies for strengthening the evidence base for employee health promotion.

The use of health fairs in health promotion.

Health fairs have been a typical intervention for most worksite and community health promotion programs. They are often one of the first types of intervention selected for use. Historically, they can be traced back to public health interventions conducted at 19th century county and state fairs, and have shown considerable sustaining resilience over time. A proposed 21st-century modification includes the concept of virtual health fairs, which use the Internet and provide a cyber version of the traditional health fair. Various programming strategies are proposed that have the potential to enhance the behavior change, risk mitigation, and economic return associated with health fairs.

Stakeholder analysis in worksite health promotion programming.

Stakeholder analysis is a formal management tool that is used primarily for planning purposes and policy development. A number of key planning questions are used to help identify major issues with internal and external stakeholders that can affect, or often are affected by, a worksite health promotion program. Organizational size is correlated with the various likely stakeholders. Desired contributions and strategies for efficient management of stakeholder relationships are also offered.

eHealth portals: who uses them and why?

The role of the Internet and specifically ehealth portals continue to expand at a significant pace. The various major functions of ehealth portals are identified, along with the results of an online survey conducted among employees of eight major U.S. employers. Demographic variables, job characteristics, reasons for use of the portal and selected behavioral outcomes are presented from a sample of more than 20,000 employees, with a response rate in relation to the entire employee population of 19%. Major implications from the survey findings are then identified, with an intention of enhancing the health improvement effectiveness of the ehealth portal.

Volvo's "best practices" approach.

Editorial comments on the need for widespread consensus on "best practice" prevention targets and accompanying interventions are presented in Closing Thoughts.

Building a sustainable administrative infrastructure for worksite wellness programs.

As health care reform intensifies increasing references are being made to Worksite Wellness. These references are naturally leading to higher expectations for the effectiveness of Worksite Wellness programs. Yet the ultimate provisions regarding prevention and Wellness are not known. In the absence of legislative outcomes the focus for this edition is on the necessary administrative infrastructure that is needed to produce behavioral change, health risk mitigation and economic return from Wellness programming. Sixteen (16) administrative components are identified as critical to effective Wellness programming. Employee or health plan population size is seen as a significant variable in the design of the Wellness program's administrative infrastructure. Factors in sustainability and programming are also considered.

Best practices for smoking cessation: implications for employer-based programs.

Tobacco use and smoking continue to be one of the most important potentially preventable health problems of the 21st century. A large number of studies published in the peer-reviewed literature now inform much of our employer-based programming efforts. Worksite settings and health plan member populations are served primarily through worksite-based interventions, which are examined in this literature review. As a consequence, a number of important resulting "best practices" for smoking cessation efforts with employed populations are presented for consideration in this edition of The Art of Health Promotion.

Bringing wellness to the small employer.

Historically the predominant models of programming have evolved from mid to large size employer settings. Yet the majority of employees in any given community work for organizations that employ fewer than 500 employees. These small employers also constitute a disproportionate majority of all employers. Wellness practitioners need to develop programming models and strategies that are designed specifically for these small employer organizations. This article establishes a perspective for bringing wellness to the small employer based on recent research and considering the implications of the differences between small and large employers from a programming perspective. Finally, several anticipated aspects of future programming are described along with summary conclusions.