As the field of Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives continues to evolve, so will the need to clearly define the dimensions of a broad-based model of Corporate Health Promotion Programs. A representative model includes the following Corporate Health and Wellness Program components; health education initiatives, staff member health services and benefits, physical fitness and nutrition initiatives, Company Health and 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 Initiatives will maximize the impact of all interventions by increasing communication between administrators, workers, and staff member families, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy worksite culture and climate. Philosophically, this model supports the ideals of staff member wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond initiatives designed to only reduce health care costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.
A key factor in the utility of this model is the integration and overlap of responsibilities for Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives by various departments and individuals outside and inside the company. As the structure of the worksite continues to change, in the future this dynamic model can be used to evaluate and plan for Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives that are truly broad-based in nature.
A Comprehensive Model For Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives
According to the National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities (1992) 81% of companies in the United States with 50 or more workers have some form of Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives activity. This result puts us in proximity of the Healthy People 2000 (1990) objective of 85% by the year 2000. Why are companies getting into the business of Corporate Health Promotion Programs? The three most common reasons cited for employer interest in Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives are the desire to control spiraling health care costs, to encourage a healthy productive work force, and as a way of boosting the morale of workers and the image of the company (O’Donnell, 1994).
As the motivations behind Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives differ, so do the extent of a Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives 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 Company Health and Wellness Program targeted to the specific needs of a company and its workers. Research indicates (O’Donnel & Harris, 1994) that some Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives have been more effective than others in improving health status, but what would a truly broad-based model of Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives consist of?
Close your eyes and imagine yourself working for the healthiest business possible. What characteristics or Company Health and Wellness Program strategies would make that organization so healthy? Examine it from a holistic perspective. What does that business do to enhance the physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual aspects of staff member health? How does that business develop effective health policies and relevant programs that impact all workers? Finally, how does that business demonstrate its belief that workers are the business’s most valued asset?
It is unlikely that any one single of a Company Health and Wellness Program will be accountable for the positive health outcomes of all workers. Company Health and Wellness Program have evolved from the occasional fitness center for the exclusive use of business executives, or the sporadic staff member safety program, to a wide range of health enhancing services and initiatives. Company Health and Wellness Program experts often speak of the importance of cultural change and the need to institutionalize Corporate Health Promotion Initiatives in today’s worksite. This goal can only occur through a broad-based and integrated approach that impacts on workers through numerous channels.
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