Comprehensive Corporate Health Promotion Programs?

As the field of Corporate Health Promotion Programs continues to evolve, so will the need to define the dimensions of a broad-based model of Corporate Health Promotion Programs. A representative model includes the following components; health education programs, employee health services and benefits, nutrition and physical fitness programs, Wellness Program policies and procedures, counseling and employee assistance programs, a safe and healthy work environment, and the integration of company and community resources.

A broad-based approach to Corporate Health Promotion Programs will maximize the impact of all initiatives by increasing communication between administrators, workers, and employee families, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy worksite climate and culture. Philosophically, this model supports the ideals of employee wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond programs designed to only reduce health care costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.

A primary factor in the utility of this model is the integration and overlap of responsibilities for Corporate Health Promotion Programs by various departments and individuals outside and inside the company. As the structure of the workplace continues to change, in the future this dynamic model can be used to evaluate and plan for Corporate Health Promotion Programs that are truly broad-based in nature.

A Comprehensive Model For Corporate Health Promotion Programs

According to the National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities (1992) 81 percent of organizations in the U.S. with 50 or more workers have some form of Corporate Health Promotion Programs activity. This result puts us in proximity of the Healthy People 2000 (1990) objective of 85 percent by the year 2000. Why are organizations getting into the organization of Corporate Health Promotion Programs? The three most common reasons cited for employer interest in Corporate Health Promotion Programs are the desire to control spiraling health care costs, to encourage a healthy productive work force, and as a means of boosting the morale of workers and the image of the company (O’Donnell, 1994).

As the motivations for Corporate Health Promotion Programs differ, so do the extent of a Corporate Health Promotion Programs efforts. A program may consist of distributing the occasional health pamphlet on the warning signs of cancer to workers, or it may comprise an elaborate and strategically planned Wellness Program targeted to the specific needs of a company and its workers. Research indicates (O’Donnel & Harris, 1994) that some Corporate Health Promotion Programs have been more effective than others in improving health status, but what would a truly broad-based model of Corporate Health Promotion Programs consist of?

Imagine yourself working for the healthiest organization possible. What characteristics or Wellness Program strategies would make that organization so healthy? Examine it from a holistic perspective. What does that organization do to enhance the spiritual, emotional, social, physical and intellectual aspects of employee health? How does that organization develop effective health policies and relevant programs that impact all workers? Finally, how does that organization demonstrate its belief that workers are the organization’s most valued asset?

It is unlikely that any one single of a Wellness Program will be accountable for the positive health outcomes of all workers. Wellness Program have evolved from the occasional fitness facility for the exclusive use of organization executives, or the sporadic employee safety program, to a wide range of health enhancing services and programs. Wellness Program experts often speak of the importance of cultural change and the need to institutionalize Corporate Health Promotion Programs in today’s workplace. This goal can only occur through a broad-based and integrated approach that impacts on workers through numerous channels.