All About Wellness Plans

Stress continues to drive workers’ work-related health concerns, which is probably why most respondents (78%) in a recent survey claim they would take part in a Workplace Wellness Plan to help their overall health and wellness.

In a recent study commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. (AAOHN), 500 full-time workers nationwide were interviewed by phone.

“Today’s workers are clearly dealing with a lot of pressures such as the effects of 9/11, an unstable economy, national security threats and work/balance issues. There is a real opportunity for employers to serve as an ally to their workers by providing them with resources to better manage their physical and emotional health – anything from stress management seminars to nutrition and exercise counseling,” says Deborah V. DiBenedetto, president of AAOHN.

Nearly 80% of respondents believe their health would improve if they were offered the right information and tools through a viable Employee Wellness Program.

Topping the list of most interesting Employee Wellness Programs cited by workers is stress management (85%), closely followed by screening initiatives (84%), exercise/physical fitness initiatives (84%), medical insurance education (81%) and disease management seminars (80%).

More than half of workers (61%) would rather receive health and wellness information from a medical consultant or on-site nurse, compared to pamphlets or brochures (18%) or human resources staff (15%).

Effective Employee Wellness Programs include the use of data sources in support of Workplace Wellness Plan planning, implementation, and evaluation. Information sources can be used to complete a community needs assessment, develop realistic Workplace Wellness Plan goals and objectives, and gain Senior Management support.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Information and statistics
• http://www.cdc.gov/DataStatistics/
• Information and statistics are available by topic (i.e., asthma, injuries, MRSA).
• Information access tools are available to customize information tables and query datasets (i.e., Healthy People DATA2010, smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs).
• Nationwide survey information is available (i.e., National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)).

CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
• http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.htm
• BRFSS is the world’s largest, ongoing telephone health survey system. BRFSS has been tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the US yearly since 1984.
• Chronic Disease Indicators are divided into seven categories: physical activity and nutrition, tobacco and alcohol use, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, overarching conditions, and other disease and risk factors.
• Prevalence information is also available (i.e., weight classification by Body Mass Index and age).

Workplace Wellness Plan data collection and analysis is often avoided because of a perceived lack of resources for this very important Workplace Wellness Plan component. Use the suggestions below to take advantage of a variety of resources available at your company or in the local community.

Medical Interns and Residents
• If your Onsite Medical Center has an internship Employee Wellness Program, get to know the Internship Director.
• Make use of these resources – including having the Director and/or interns/residents start the outcome information collection plan for your Employee Wellness Program.

Local college and graduate students
• Where appropriate volunteer agreements are in place, use local college/graduate students to help collect, input, and analyze Workplace Wellness Plan data.
• Make use of the fact that these students are often looking for projects.
• If there are no “health-related” students/interns in your area, consider using employer students. Let them calculate a cost avoidance or ROI for your Employee Wellness Program.

Other Medical Personnel
• Partner with other Medical Personnel. Find out who is collecting information, what information they are collecting, and how they are collecting it.
• If they are using a survey and the survey administration process is already in place, ask if you can add a question or two.
• Be aware of other research going on at your facility. They may already be collecting information you need OR may have analysis resources that can be shared.
• Make sure other departments in the Medical center know you can always use some extra help if they have personnel with any down time. Use these resources for information entry or other administrative tasks.
• Make use of the volunteers to help collect and input data.

Past Workplace Wellness Plan members
• Past Workplace Wellness Plan members are also a good resource.
• They may be willing to lead a class session, provide encouragement to current Workplace Wellness Plan members, or help collect data.
You can enhance data collection and analysis by taking advantage of local resources. Using these resources expands the reach and impact of your Employee Wellness Program.

Keeping Workplace Wellness Plan information organized is essential in order to be able to determine Workplace Wellness Plan impact and member progress. Use the simple steps below to keep your information organized.

Manage Workplace Wellness Plan information electronically.
• Storing Workplace Wellness Plan outcomes information electronically is the best way to manage that information.
• An electronic system will enable you to review and analyze the information more efficiently.
• Scan old surveys and other Workplace Wellness Plan information that exist only on paper into .pdf format for permanent storage.

Find the Workplace Wellness Plan system that works best for you.
• Some employees are more comfortable with spreadsheet applications; others rather work with database applications.
• You will be more likely to use a Workplace Wellness Plan that you are familiar and/or comfortable with.
• Standardize information collection and organization. Keep information columns/fields in the same order for all Employee Wellness Programs.

Keep the Workplace Wellness Plan as simple as possible.
• You do not have to be a Wellness Programming wizard or use complicated data entry interfaces in order to manage Workplace Wellness Plan outcomes information.
• A simple spreadsheet is an excellent way to keep your information organized.

Store all Workplace Wellness Plan data numerically.
• Using numbers (instead of words) will make the information much easier to enter and analyze. By way of example: use “1” for yes; “0” for no OR “1” for male; “2” for female.
• Number survey responses that contain strings of words. By way of example: instead of entering the responses: “patient education videos”, “news,” or “no TV,” number the responses so you only have to enter “1,” “2,” or “3.”

Label all Workplace Wellness Plan data clearly.
• Make sure all the data columns, rows, or fields are labeled. The information is worthless if you don’t know what information is in which column.
• The spreadsheet/database should include an explanation for column, row, field, and data abbreviations and a key for numbered responses.

Use consistent Workplace Wellness Plan data units.
• Make sure all information entered into a given column is expressed with the same unit of measure. By way of example, enter all heights as total inches, not as a combination of feet and inches.
Putting your data in order by using a simple system that works for you will enable you to track member accomplishments. Keeping your information organized also makes it easier to communicate Workplace Wellness Plan impact to leadership and make Workplace Wellness Plan improvements as needed.

A gap analysis is an assessment tool that enables a employer to compare its current capabilities and performance with industry benchmarks and expectations for performance. A gap analysis is used to identify areas that have room for improvement.

Gap analysis can also be used for your Workplace Wellness Plan to determine where the program stands now and how the Workplace Wellness Plan can better follow evidence-based recommendations.

To begin a gap analysis, ask these simple questions about your Employee Wellness Program:
• What is the current state of the Employee Wellness Program?
• How does the Workplace Wellness Plan measure up to evidence-based practices? (i.e., the desired state)

The gap is the difference between the current and desired states.

After the gap has been identified, the next step is to determine the action steps that are needed to close the gap. These actions answer the question: “How can the Workplace Wellness Plan move forward towards the desired state?”

Sometimes the gaps that need to be filled can be addressed through Workplace Wellness Plan changes; other gaps might require policy changes. However, using a gap analysis will help you identify areas for Workplace Wellness Plan improvement and the actions needed to make progress towards those goals.

Workplace Wellness Plan employer plan review (from Key #19)
• A Workplace Wellness Plan employer plan is a roadmap for success.
• Your Workplace Wellness Plan employer plan should convincingly demonstrate that your Workplace Wellness Plan will help the organization to achieve its goals.

More smart Workplace Wellness Plan employer planning strategies

Planning the Workplace Wellness Plan
• Find out how your organization plans so that your planning process will be in sync with what already happens in the organization.
• Involve other employees. A planning team brings their combined experience and perspective to the process. Including potential partners as you plan will make it easier to get their buy-in later.

Thinking of the big picture
• Consider the barriers and challenges that might be encountered during Workplace Wellness Plan implementation. Develop strategies ahead of time to overcome these potential problems.
• Do a SWOT analysis and examine Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

This analysis will help you identify potential problem areas or resource shortfalls and opportunities for growth or improved partnerships with other company personnel.

The WORST employer planning strategy: sitting in your office; working by yourself.

The best Workplace Wellness Plan employer planning strategies
• Get out of your office; get out of the employer. The more employees you involve in the Workplace Wellness Plan planning process, the better. Always look for ways to expand your network.
• Keep your budget employees informed. Get to know their philosophy of financial management.
• Be able to articulate the impact if your budget is not fully funded.
o Avoid basing your impact-if-not-funded argument only on: “We have to.”
o Instead, describe the impact-if-not-funded with phrases like: injuries to workers, increased compensation costs, increased medical care costs for patients, lost work time, loss of licenses/accreditations, loss of workload to the Tricare network.
• Always have purchase requests ready to be submitted. There is often a short window of time to process these requests. Having the information gathered ahead of time will make it easy to submit the information right away.

A well thought-out Workplace Wellness Plan employer plan is essential in these times of shrinking budgets and resources. A good employer plan will help you gain leadership support and help you get and keep resources needed to start the Employee Wellness Program.

A employer plan is a roadmap for success. Use the guidelines below to develop a realistic employer plan and budget for your Employee Wellness Programs.

What is a employer plan?
• A plan for success
• A document that convincingly demonstrates that your Workplace Wellness Plan will help the organization to achieve its goals.

Questions to ask when developing a Workplace Wellness Plan employer plan
• Why do you need to do the Employee Wellness Program?
• What are you going to do?
• Where are you going to do it?
• Who is the target audience?
• How are you going to do it?
• Who is going to start the Employee Wellness Program?
• How much will the Workplace Wellness Plan cost Senior Management?
• What is Senior Management going to get out of the Employee Wellness Program? Why should Senior Management invest in the Employee Wellness Program?

Workplace Wellness Plan employer Plan Components
• Title and duration of the Workplace Wellness Plan
• Points of contact
• Background information (description of need; bibliography/literature review; how the Workplace Wellness Plan will help achieve the organization’s goals)
• Workplace Wellness Plan description
• Goals and objectives
• Implementation site
• Target population
• Work plan
• Partnerships and collaborations
• Timelines and milestones
• Budget and resource requirements (dollars and employees)

Gaining the support of leadership
• Clearly link the Workplace Wellness Plan goals and objectives to the organization’s strategic plan.
• Focus on the desired outcomes.
• Use the right language for the right audience. By way of example, Senior Management is interested in decreased clinic visits, improved provider productivity, management of the health of the population. However, Senior Management is interested in improved readiness, decreased lost duty/training time, and decreased disability and FECA claims.
A well thought-out Workplace Wellness Plan employer plan will help you gain leadership support, help you get and keep resources needed to start the Employee Wellness Program, and keep the Workplace Wellness Plan on track towards meaningful outcomes.

As they say: “timing is everything.” Use the guidelines below to guide the timing of Workplace Wellness Plan activities and data collection.

Timing: Workplace Wellness Plan Start-up
• Consider the optimal time to start a new Employee Wellness Program. Take into account preferences of the target population and other factors that could affect enrollment and participation.
• By way of example, coordinating the start of an adult weight management initiative with the start of school in August or September may be a good tie-in with a “fresh start.”
• On the other hand, starting an adult weight management initiative In January may not be a great idea because of the constraints that weather may put on exercising outdoors.
• Make use of other timing cycles at your company. Planning a marketing blitz just after the PCS turnover has been completed is a good way to let new personnel know what Workplace Wellness Plan options are available.

Timing: Workplace Wellness Plan Participant Support
• Consider how frequently Workplace Wellness Plan sessions should be offered to provide the best support and education for members and the best opportunity for success.
• Get feedback from members regarding what session frequencies work best for them.
• Consider the timing for other support mechanisms like email encouragement. What timing of those messages will benefit members most: Weekly? Bi-monthly? Monthly?

Timing: Workplace Wellness Plan Data Collection
• Collecting information is an excellent way to track member progress and also to identify potential problems within a Employee Wellness Program. So, give some thought to the frequency and timing of data collection.
• Select metrics that can realistically change during the Workplace Wellness Plan implementation time period. By way of example, BMI and weight may not change very much during a 10-week Employee Wellness Program; however, step counts are more likely to noticeably change.
• Some information, such as member responsiveness to out-of-class assignments (like food journals) and other interim data (like step counts) will provide important information needed to “adjust fire” as needed and make Workplace Wellness Plan changes if something is not working.
• Be flexible regarding data collection frequency. Instead of requiring that members complete an exercise log every day, for example, consider asking for a “snapshot” summary from two or three days during the week. You will still get information to review, but members will have an easier time complying with the assignment.

Timing: Workplace Wellness Plan Follow-up
• Because the we are such a mobile population, it’s best to plan some sort of post-Employee Wellness Program follow-up data collection within two to four months after the Workplace Wellness Plan ends.
• You can always try to collect additional follow-up data at 6 or 12 months after Workplace Wellness Plan completion. However, if you collect the information sooner, you’ll at least have collected some short term Workplace Wellness Plan impact information before members are lost to follow-up.

Workplace Wellness Plan communication is important to all aspects of Wellness and preventive medicine and is relevant to:
• Healthcare provider-patient relationships
• An individual’s exposure to, search for, and use of Workplace Wellness Plan information
• Effective counseling and patient education for behavior change
• Content of public health messages and community campaigns

Effective health communication should have these attributes:
• Accuracy: content is valid and error-free
• Availability: delivered or placed where the intended audience can access the information
• Balance: content presents benefits and risks of potential actions
• Consistency: content is locally consistent over time and is also consistent with information from other reliable sources
• Evidence-based: content and methods of delivery are based on relevant scientific evidence
• Reach: content gets to or is available to as many employees as possible in the target population
• Reliability: content source is credible; content is kept up-to-date
• Repetition: delivery of/access to the content is continued over time, to reinforce the impact with the audience and to reach new members of the target population
• Timeliness: content is provided when the audience is most receptive to, or in need of, the specific information
• Understandability: reading, language levels, and format are appropriate for the specific audience (i.e., Employees, Family Members, Garrison leadership, etc.)

What the research says about health communication
• Health communication best supports Wellness when multiple communication methods are used to reach specific audiences.
• Effective Wellness and communication initiatives should reflect an audiencecentered perspective, and reflect the preferred formats, contexts, and way of communication for the intended audience.

Material adapted from: United States Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 vols. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, November 2000.
http://www.healthypeople.gov/document/HTML/Volume1/11HealthCom.htm

Evaluation of successful Employee Wellness Programs has revealed several primary Workplace Wellness Plan strategies to increase Workplace Wellness Plan effectiveness and impact overall Soldier health.

Strategy #5: Using a small number of targeted priorities maintains Workplace Wellness Plan focus.
• Needs assessment data can be used to identify leading health needs and also high risk populations.
• Choosing a handful of specific health needs on which to focus will maximize efficient use of resources.
• Keeping the Workplace Wellness Plan focus small will avoid duplication of other ongoing company Employee Wellness Programs.

Strategy #6: Use standardized processes whenever possible.

Reduce the amount of variation within your Employee Wellness Programs by standardizing all the processes needed for Workplace Wellness Plan planning and startation. By way of example:
• Use the same spreadsheet format for data collection so that the columns are in the same order. This way you can compare information more easily.
• Reuse the same forms for enrollment and attendance. Change the heading as needed.
• Look at other Workplace Wellness Plan processes (like registration, evaluation, marketing, etc.). What parts of those processes can be standardized?
• The Wellness and Prevention Initiatives website (http://chppmwww. apgea.army.mil/dhpw/Population/HPPiFunction.aspx) has many standardized Workplace Wellness Plan resources in a variety of topic areas.

Strategy #7: Workplace Wellness Plan delivery methods should be flexible and adapted to population needs.
• Delivery of products and services may depend on: company needs, training requirements, other scheduling considerations (such as work/duty schedules, school scheduling, etc.), member preference, and/or availability of staff or space.
• Be flexible: the same produce/service delivery methods may not work for every population.
• Some company’s may want services provided to them as close as possible to the company location; other companies may prefer as many services as possible bundled together at once (regardless of location).
• Take wellness and preventive medicine beyond the walls of the employer in order to meet leadership and worker needs. Answer the question: “How can we best help leadership and Employees to fulfill their mission?”