Wellness Program Design Choices.

The program design options depend on the objectives and desired outcomes of your program.  If 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, are not interchangeable as for obtaining the same results, and accordingly should not be confused.  

For example, scheduling activities such as an employee wellness fair or lunchtime education sessions, or having  pamphlets available don’t typically result in behavior change, but may increase awareness on a topic.  

If the goal is behavior change 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 employees.  This kind of program can include  handouts on a selection of topics, wellness articles in newsletters, bulletin board displays, e-mail health messages, etc.  

Also, most health fairs are designed as awareness programs with providers providing information and providing health screenings to staff members.  

Awareness programs are affordable and do not require robust employee or business time commitments.  However, these programs do not generally lead to healthier behavior change.  

Increasing awareness isn’t typically enough to generate lifestyle changes for most person, unless used to motivate staff members to register for a program being offered at the company or community on the topic.  

An example of this would be providing information on the harmful effects of tobacco use and inviting workers who smoke to register for a tobacco use cessation class.

Education Programs -   Educational programs often provide more information on a topic and can also provide time for questions and answers, but are similar to awareness programs.  An example is lunch-n-learn sessions on a health related topic.  

These cost the business a little more than awareness programs; nevertheless, they’re still low cost and do not require a excellent deal of time for planning or attending a session.  

Again, increasing awareness and providing information may not lead to the desired behavior change unless ongoing support or incentives are also planned.

Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs -   These programs are designed as 4 to 12 weekly sessions or seminars to provide wellness education, address barriers and provide opportunities to practice the desired skills.  

Behavior change programs thus require more corporation resources, cost more, also require more worker commitment, time and effort.  The results are often the desired positive lifestyle change, which if sustained can lead to potential cost savings.  

Examples are tobacco use cessation classes, weight loss and weight management 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 in order to support and maintain healthy behaviors.  

These kinds of design options include policy changes such as -

• Creating a smoke-free workplace

• Designating a walking path,

• Establishing on-site fitness centers,

• Ensuring healthful vending machine selections,

• Offering healthy food choices in the cafeteria, and/or

• Establishing flex-time policies.  

Other examples include subsidizing healthful vending machines or cafeteria choices; reimbursing health club or weight loss and weight control program memberships; or providing insurance incentives for healthful behaviors.

Ideally, the wellness program design would include some of all of these options.  The more extensive and integrated the approach, the more successful the results will be.  For  instance, a company can -

• have smoking cessation information available;
• can schedule a one hour awareness session on the harmful effects of use of tobacco and how to quit;
• can start an on-site use of tobacco cessation program,
• supply self quit tobacco use kits, or
• support staff members to attend a community program; and/or
• on an environmental support level can establish a smoke-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 ought to be considered to ensure the success of your Wellness Program or wellness program.  These include -  

• Executive Management Support and Worker Involvement

• Active Wellness Committee

• Program is Based on Staff Member Needs and Interests

• Objectives and Objectives are Established

• Detailed Action Plan Based on Resources and Budget

• Program Implementation and Internal Marketing

• Analysis of Outcomes and Program