Value-based design: a new powerful perspective for worksite health promotion.

The growth in recognition of the employee's role in health improvement is driving the development of new perspectives for managing the health of individuals in defined populations, such as a working population. Value-Based Design is one of these newer perspectives and is introduced in this edition of The Art of Health Promotion. The core of this approach uses data to design benefits and incentives that are then implemented effectively and tracked as to their outcome. This perspective helps practitioners focus their interventions and helps move programming more directly to the production of desired outcomes. Behavioral "levers" are identified and integrated across a useful intervention continuum.

Use of a normal impairment factor in quantifying avoidable productivity loss because of poor health.

OBJECTIVE: Growing evidence demonstrates a relationship between excess health risk and preventable productivity loss. There is a need to quantify how much lost productivity is avoidable through employer-sponsored health management interventions. This study introduced the Normal Impairment Factor (NIF) to recognize the amount of productivity loss that cannot be mitigated through health management interventions. METHODS: A health assessment questionnaire was administered to 772,750 employees, representing 106 employers within five industry sectors. Researchers used multivariate regression procedures to examine the association between preventable health risks and self-reported productivity loss. RESULTS: Back pain, mental well being, and stress risk were the strongest predictors of on-the-job productivity loss. A strong association was also detected between the number of health risks and productivity loss ranging from 3.4% for those at lowest risk (the NIF group) to 24.0% loss for those at risk for eight risks. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the utility of the NIF in estimating the level of productivity loss that cannot be regained through health management interventions.

Using a health and productivity dashboard: a case example.

Health and productivity management is complicated and requires some strategies that help simplify the endeavor for employers. The use of a "dashboard" concept implies that raw information about employee health can be arranged in ways that help decision-makers better understand the scope and magnitude of health issues within their work force. In this edition of the Art we look at a case study of the use of a health and productivity dashboard within an employer organization. As health promotion professionals that work in worksite settings struggle with portraying the economic importance of worker health, a health and productivity dashboard (HPD) may provide a very real strategic advantage.

Factors affecting the frequency of value-focused health activities and policies by employers.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to gather employer perspectives about value-focused activities (VFAs), intentions to make decisions based on value, and other factors affecting decisions. METHODS: Health decision-makers (n = 174), both American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine members and corporate HR/benefits directors, responded to an Internet-based questionnaire. RESULTS: Of a total of 32 listed VFAs, companies reported, on average, performing 5.2 activities currently and considering 2.6. Twenty-five percent of companies reported doing eight or more. The most common VFAs were providing access to flu shots, centers of excellence, and wellness programs. Greater access to detailed outcome data was associated with doing more VFAs, as was greater accountability for absence, disability, and productivity outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Employers vary widely in the number of VFAs in which they participate. Decision-makers with more information about, and accountability for, value outcomes reported doing more VFAs.