The wellness program design choices depend on the objectives and desired outcomes of your wellness program. When your goal is to help staff members change behavior, reduce risk factors, or save healthcare dollars then your wellness program would be designed to accomplish those outcomes and a budget would be necessary to support that design.
There are different wellness program design levels depending on desired outcomes and budgets. Each level has advantages and disadvantages. The intentions or results are quite different, aren’t interchangeable respecting obtaining the same results, and hence should not be confused.
For example, scheduling activities like an employee health fair or lunchtime education sessions, or having handouts available don’t generally result in behavior change, but may increase awareness on a topic.
If the goal is behavior modification then a different design is required, such as Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs and Organizational Support. The outline below describes the wellness design levels with a brief explanation.
Awareness Programs – at this level a company makes medical information available and accessible to workforce. This kind of health promotion program can include handouts on a variety of topics, wellness articles in newsletters, bulletin board displays, e-mail health messages, etc.
Additionally, most wellness fairs are designed as awareness programs with providers providing information and providing medical screenings to workforce.
Awareness programs are cheap and do not require extensive worker or company time commitments. However, these wellness programs do not usually result in healthier behavior change.
Increasing awareness is not usually enough to generate lifestyle changes for most person, unless used to motivate staff members to register for a wellness program being offered at the business or community on the topic.
An example of this would be providing information on the harmful effects of smoking and inviting employees who smoke to register for a smoking cessation class.
Education Programs – Educational health promotion programs often provide more information on a topic and can also provide time for questions and answers, but are similar to awareness health promotion programs. An example is lunch-n-learn sessions on a health related topic.
These cost the company a little more than awareness programs; notwithstanding, they are still cheap and do not require a great deal of time for planning or attending a session.
Again, increasing awareness and providing information may not lead to the desired behavior modification unless ongoing support or incentives are also planned.
Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs – These wellness programs are designed as 4 to 12 weekly sessions or workshops to provide wellness education, address barriers and provide opportunities to practice the desired skills.
Behavior change programs as a result require more business resources, cost more, and require more staff member commitment, time and effort. The results are often the desired positive lifestyle change, which if sustained can lead to potential cost savings.
Examples are use of tobacco cessation classes, weight reduction and weight control meetings, or an ongoing fitness program.
Environmental and Organizational Support – Environmental support is often considered the highest and most important level to include when designing your wellness program to support and maintain healthy behaviors.
These kinds of design choices include policy changes like –
• Creating a tobacco-free workplace
• Designating a walking path,
• Establishing onsite health clubs,
• Ensuring healthful vending machine selections,
• Offering healthy food options in the cafeteria, and/or
• Establishing flex-time policies.
Other examples include subsidizing healthy vending machines or cafeteria choices; reimbursing health and fitness center or weight reduction and weight control program memberships; or providing insurance incentives for healthy behaviors.
Ideally, the wellness program design would include some of all of these choices. The more comprehensive and integrated the approach, the more successful the results will be. For instance, a corporation can –
• have smoking cessation information available;
• can schedule a one hour awareness session on the harmful effects of smoking and how to quit;
• can start an onsite tobacco use cessation program,
• supply self quit tobacco use kits, or
• support personnel to attend a community program; and/or
• on an environmental support level can establish a tobacco-free workplace and grounds,
• offer lower insurance premiums for non-smokers, or
• provide pharmacological quit smoke aids for free.
Wellness Program – Components for Success
There are a few key components or elements that should be considered to ensure the success of your Wellness Program or health promotion program. These include –
• Upper Management Support and Worker Involvement
• Active Health Promotion Committee
• Program is Based on Staff Member Needs and Interests
• Goals and Objectives are Established
• Detailed Action Plan Based on Resources and Budget
• Program Implementation and Internal Marketing
• Evaluation of Outcomes and Program
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