"Which health programs or topics should have top priority in my company's wellness program?"
That's a good question to ask yourself periodically. To answer it, you'll need to ask more questions: Are my health programs useful to my employees? Do I know what the major health risk factors are for my employees? Will my wellness program have an impact on healthcare expenses for my organization?
There are several ways to determine what is most important. One way is to review your Personal Wellness Profile (PWP) group report to identify your organization's biggest health needs. All organizations should do this at least once every year.
Another question to ask that can help you set your wellness program priorities is: "What do my employees want to change in their lives?" Your PWP group report includes a summary of employee health interests, giving you insight into what your employees are most interested in.
Here's a third way to help set priorities: Look at the top 10 causes of preventable mortality in the United States. A recent health journal published such a list, and it is very enlightening. Here is their list. The number in the graph is times 10,000. For example, 395,000 people in the United States die each year from high blood pressure, which is entirely preventable by choosing a healthier lifestyle.
This chart helps you quickly see what priorities are important for preventing early death. These same health problems are closely linked to high healthcare costs. The 10 lifestyle factors linked most closely to preventing serious diseases are:
- Quitting smoking
- Lowering high blood pressure
- Losing excess weight
- Being physically active
- Lowering high blood sugar
- Lowering high cholesterol
- Reducing daily salt/sodium intake
- Choosing healthy fats in place of saturated and trans fats
- Limiting alcohol
- Eating more fruits and vegetables
The next question to consider is: "What programs or interventions do I have in place to help people with these priority health issues?"
You may want to use these priority health insights to plan monthly or quarterly wellness campaigns around each issue. Include articles on the chosen topic in company newsletters and emails. Invite speakers to make special presentations to your employees. Look for online interventions and resources your employees can use for making positive changes. Plan incentives around these priorities.
Look for ways of incorporating these principles into your corporate culture (such as making changes to company cafeteria foods, offering flex time for exercise, and offering incentives for reaching wellness goals). Arrange screenings for blood pressure and cholesterol checks. If you do this quarterly, you'll have 2.5 years of health campaigns already decided for you just by focusing on the top 10 causes of preventable death. And by emphasizing these priority health issues, you'll be making the biggest possible impact on the major health conditions linked to serious illness and high healthcare costs for your organization.
Don Hall, DrPH, CHES
Wellsource, Inc.
