Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

There are numerous benefits to thinking of a part-time or full-time occupational and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty practice that supplies for and delivers health and safety programs and services to workers, and worker populations. The practice focuses on promotion and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, treatment of work and non-work related injuries and illnesses, and protection from work related  and environmental risks.

Onsite Heath Professional roles have the potential to include: Case management, Counseling, Corporate Wellness Program, Legal and regulatory compliance, Clinical services, and Hazard detection and controls. The American Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Nurses is the national association, www.AAOHN.org. The State Chapter also has a website with information including local chapter information to help you locate a contact near you, www.NCAOHN.org.

Health educators can design, conduct and evaluate activities that help improve the health of all your workers. They are subject matter experts who may be a important asset regardless your program needs and objectives and goals. They can help form a Employee Wellness Program Committee and start many of its programs and services, for example or depending on the structure and time commitments of your Employee Wellness Program Committee, they can also coordinate the entire program as well. Integrating the activities of the Committee and/or Employee Wellness Program consultant services within your operations, including within your safety and occupational health program will offer additional benefits!

We are drafting Corporate Health Promotion Programs to help you feel better and stay healthy. In order to plan programs that best meet your needs and interests we would like your suggestions! Please take a minute to answer some questions about your interests. Your answers will be combined with those of others’ and reviewed to help plan programs for you. Do not sign your name.

Please complete the survey today and return it to__________. We appreciate your important input! Your help is important for drafting efficacious programs. Return the completed form by _____________.

Rate your interest on a scale of 1 – 3 with one (1) being of little or no interest; two (2) being of some interest and three (3) indicating that you are very interested. Indicate your response by circling or ‘Xing’ the number.

I am interested in:

Participating in wellness programs before work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs after work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs during my lunch break 1 2 3
Learning healthy eating options to lose weight 1 2 3
Sports nutrition 1 2 3
Healthier cooking 1 2 3
Helping my children eat healthier 1 2 3
Quick, healthy meals for busy lifestyles 1 2 3
Healthy snack options 1 2 3
Learning how to quit smoking 1 2 3
Attending classes to help me quit smoking cigarettes 1 2 3
Stress Mangement skills 1 2 3
Balancing work, family, and personal life 1 2 3
Time upper management skills 1 2 3
Participating in a beginning physical activity program 1 2 3
Developing time to exercise for busy people 1 2 3
Getting health information that I can read or watch at home 1 2 3
Learning about cancer prevention 1 2 3
Heart health options 1 2 3
CPR and First Aid 1 2 3
Team sports activities at work 1 2 3
Learning how to stretch 1 2 3
Learning how to improve intake of fruits and vegetables 1 2 3
Parenting Topics (age of children: ) 1 2 3
Onsite exercise classes: walking Yoga aerobic other: 1 2 3
Health evaluation such as Blood Pressure, blood lipids, blood sugar 1 2 3

Program assessment may be The previous step, but it must be planned at the onset of your efforts!  Assessment helps you identify what parts of the program are working well and what parts need improvement.  Then, based on the assessment data, adjustments are able to be made to fine-tune your wellness program.   Adjusting the program based on assessment data is critical to its continued effectiveness.  

Evaluating your program does not have to be be complicated.  However, it is important to plan how you will oversee your wellness efforts and determine effectiveness during the planning phase or Step 5.  Also be sure to to evaluate the program based on the objectives you already identified during your organizing process.  

In order to evaluate your program you need to have a system to document specifics as you go along.  This can be as simple as maintaining file folders on programs that are available, or a computer document with a table or spreadsheet summarizing information collecting.  Consider:

• Program topic and numbers of employees who participated
• The numbers of handouts taken by workers or distributed and on what subject matters
• The number of participants in a behavior modification program and how many met their goals as well as how many attended all of the sessions
• Numbers of staff members who continued the healthy behavior modification following the program?
• Overall employee satisfaction with the program or each topic.  

Depending on your goals/objectives, gather desired data and compare it to previous data gathered during the initial assessment to determine if the goals/objectives were met.  Such data might include

• Absentee rates
• Injury rates
• Health risk factors Insurance expenditures  

Summarize and Report Company Wellness Program Results

Once you have collected all of the assessment information it needs to be reviewed with the Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee and summarized.  You will probably have positive results and some areas where a change is required or additional focus required for continuous improvement.  This not-so positive information can be used to make any required adjustments as well as to plan for next year and is important to include in your report.  

It is important to communicate the wellness program results to both management and employees.  Consider how management usually receives reports on operations and work rate problems and include the yearly wellness program report in the same format.  At some businesses the reports are made during management meetings using presentation styles such as authority point slides.  At other businesses, graphs and bar charts are the norm or a list of the objectives and the summary outcomes reported.  

No matter the format, it’s important to convey the outcomes and successes achieved, including any anecdotal stories, as well as areas for improvement.  Be sure to link the outcomes to the corporation mission and bottom line whenever possible.

Staff Members want to receive the same information!  Consider using the same communication channels used when informing employees of the wellness program:

• Employer newsletters,
• Bulletin boards,
• E-mails  

Also consider celebrating successes and recognizing achievements by:

• Posting pictures from programs
• Highlighting performance stories
• Posting pictures of successes
• Scheduling a celebration
• Recognizing champions  

Armed with data, Worksite Wellness Program topic preferences and goals/objectives – and a Worksite Wellness Program Committee ready to get things done – it is now time to decide how best to take action.  This website supplies tools to help you!  You can read about the various types of wellness programs available by other businesses to get an idea of what might prove effective for your company.  There are Statewide Resources listed along with national non-profit groups offering resources, and specific examples of resources available on various wellness subject matters.  In addition, keep looking under Steps to an Effective Program for ideas to get you started!

If your planning phase was properly executed, you should simply have to follow through with the plans you have already made.  

Important Corporate Wellness Program considerations include:

1. Formally Introduce the Employee Wellness Program and consider policy statements that state the significance of the wellness program.  Examples include a general policy regarding the responsibility to employee health and safety as well as specific policies such as No Smoking, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.
2. Communicate Your Program: The best planned program with great wellness programs will not be productive if your workers don’t know about it or do not understand the options or how to take part.  Communicate your wellness program using a variety of methods to ensure the message and “how-to’s” are heard!

   Employee Health Promotion Program Communication Strategies could include:

   • Newsletter articles
   • Postings on the company’s intranet or internet
   • A designated Champion of the program
   • Formal or informal meeting to announce program, “the kick-off”
   • Flyers / handouts / brochures / table tents,
   • Bulletin boards / kiosk where all material is promoted or found,
   • Email / phone messages,
   • Mailings or distributions  

3. Use Corporate Health Promotion Program Incentives:  You’ll be amazed to find out what most of us will do for a no cost T-shirt.  Incentives can both support and encourage participation among workers.  Consider both formal or company incentives and rewards and informal or program rewards/prizes from local resources to reinforce participation in Corporate Health Promotion Programs. Either way, it’s significant to provide incentives and rewards that are attractive and meaningful to your workers.

   Formal Corporate Health Promotion Program Incentives:

   • Discounts on employee health care insurance premiums or co-pays, or contributions to 401K programs, employee stock options, or other mechanisms.  
   
   Click here for more information on health plan incentive ideas
   
   • fitness center/Fitness Center discounts or enrollment fee coverage
   • Public transportation vouchers
   • Flexible work time options
   • “Wellness Days” off work  

   Prizes or Informal Employee Health Promotion Program Incentives:

   • Cash – a very effective incentive!
   • Prize rewards and incentives such as gift certificates to heart-healthy restaurants; media player to use while working out, emergency kits, or any other prizes that would arouse your staff members.
   • T-Shirts, water bottles, or other inexpensive rewards

4. Review neighborhood resources available to support some of the wellness services.  The local health department or your organization health care provider may be able to help  you with this information.  There are also vendors throughout the State providing excellent wellness services for businesses.  They are available to help you strategize and find the best options available.

5. Launch your program as planned documenting information and outcomes as you go such as numbers of participants, dates of activities, and any other special details you are tracking.

The Employee Health Promotion Program Committee ought to set out a plan for the entire year that outlines accomplishing goals and objectives, as well as provides details for marketing and evaluating the program. The plan is the detailed map of what types of programs will be offered, when and where they will be scheduled, how they will be marketed and evaluated, and what the budget is.  It is valuable to plan your wellness activities based on your goals and objectives, as well as the budget since different strategies will yield different outcomes.  By way of example, if your mission is to expand awareness on a topic, then distributing brochures or scheduling a one-time class may be appropriate.  However, if your goal is to change behavior, then different strategies may be necessary, such as ongoing weekly sessions and support groups.  Click here to link to Program Design Options for additional ideas.

Company Health Promotion Program Marketing

Now is the time to plan your marketing strategies!  How can you market the wellness program and ongoing activities?  No matter how you decide to, market frequently, keep it fresh, and remind employees repeatedly!  Consider having an overall kickoff exercise to let everyone know about the wellness program.  Senior Management ought to support the introduction or invitation so that all employees are cognizant of their reinforcement and leadership in the program.

Possible marketing methods:

• Distributing email messages, including reminders
• Design bulletins,
• Putting up bulletin board postings,
• Composing articles,
• Mailing letters or
• Mailing special invitations.  

Other Corporate Health Promotion Program Considerations:

• Is the Corporate Wellness Program promoted to all workers or to a specific target audience?
• Do you have a Corporate Wellness Program champion (someone who is connected with different groups in the organization, and well respected) who can help in your promotion efforts?
• If your marketing efforts do not seem to be working, do you have a way to revisit and adjust your strategy?
• How will you determine effectiveness and evaluate your program?  And how will you gather the information necessitated to evaluate your program?  

Topics most frequently included in Corporate Health Promotion Programs:

• Nutrition
• Physical Activity/Exercise
• Tobacco Use Cessation
• Bone Health
• Cardiovascular Health
• The Spine
• Stress Reduction
• Chronic Disease Awareness & Prevention
• Self-care; Wise Healthcare Consumer
• Screening Services (BMI, Blood Pressure (BP), bone density, cholesterol, glucose, posture, vision, and other…)
• Ergonomic Assessments
• Health Fairs
• Kids/family Events
• Others subject matters that employees have interest in  

The issues and type of Employee Wellness Program planned depend on the needs and interest, overall intention and resources available.  Program Design Options   include awareness programs such as handouts and/or education sessions, behavior modification programs such as smoking cessation and weight loss classes, and environmental or company backing such as no smoking policies or healthy selections in snack machines.  

The programs planned also depend on the demographics of your workforce.  If you have a young, healthy workforce, you may want to focus the wellness attention on keeping employees healthy and not need to screen for disease.  Instead you might want to focus on healthy lifestyle behavior such as exercise and great nutrition to prevent the on-set of disease.  Click here for more information on strategies for keeping employees well, identifying disease early, or returning employees to work who already have a chronic disease.

It is also important to consider, and plan how you will evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.  The system needs to be established for tracking certain data and recording programs depending on the program goals/objectives.  Step 7 discusses program assessment in more detail.   And Step 6 will launch your program!

A Company Wellness Program without goals and objectives is somewhat akin to taking a family trip without any planning; you won’t know where you’re going, how to get there, what you want to do once you have arrived, or even whether or not you have arrived!  The trip may end up ok, or it may end up disastrously.  Yet, with a modest amount of thoughtful planning, you broaden your chances for a efficacious experience.  Clear goals and objectives are needed to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!

Wellness program objectives and goals are different from one company to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources.  Nonetheless, well thought out objectives based on your company’s needs assessment will form the foundation of a efficacious wellness program!

Company Wellness Program Mission Statement

The first consideration is a mission statement for your Employee Health Promotion Program. The mission statement is the central expression of what the Employee Health Promotion Program Committee wants to accomplish by launching a wellness program.  It is significant to consider how your Employee Health Promotion Program fits in with the corporation mission statement, contributes to the central mission and supports the corporation bottom line.  This will integrate your efforts throughout the corporation operations.  

Here are some examples of Corporate Health Promotion Program mission statements:

“At XYZ Organization, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value.  It is the mission of the Worksite Health Promotion Program to assist  in developing Worksite Health Promotion Program services that fosters and upholds that value.”

“It is the mission of the XYZ Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee to advance healthier lifestyle choices to cut health risk factors, better overall well-being, and maintain a advantageous, active work force.”

Employee Wellness Program Goals

The goals further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment.  Depending on the needs assessment, management expectations and employee interests, examples of goals can include:

The objective(s) of XYZ Workplace Wellness Program in year XXXX is to:  (one or more of the following examples)

• Reduce absenteeism by one day per employee
• Cut down on musculoskeletal injuries by 10%
• Cut down on unnecessary emergency room visits
• Cut down on or contain medical care expenditures
• Improve dietary habits of employees
• Decrease health risk factors  

Worksite Wellness Program Objectives

Specific Company Wellness Program objectives help meet your long-term goals and objectives.  Both short term and long term objectives must be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals and objectives.  In addition to objectives for the expected attendant outcomes, process objectives must also be developed for the program process itself.  By way of example, process objectives may include the number of workers you want to participate in the programs, the number of sessions on a topic will be provided, the type of wellness sessions that will be implemented, etc.

Objectives must be easily measurable within a set time frame.  Try using the SMART formula to create both your long and short-term goals and objectives:

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)
• Measurable (one result that can be monitored or evaluated),
• Attainable (but also challenging),
• Realistic (do you have the resources to achieve?), and
• Time specific (within 3 months – up to 5 years)  

This is the who, what, when, where, why, and by how much method.  For example, an objective for a weight loss program that has an overall objective of improving healthy eating and promoting a healthy weight is that:

Members (who) will lose an average of .5 – 1 lbs per week (specific what that is measurable) at the end of the 12 week lunchtime program (time specific what, when and where) for a minimum of 6 lbs weight loss per colleague (attainable and realistic).

Or:

Participants (who) will catch 11 of the 12 sessions (specific what that is measurable) and name at least one healthier eating change at the end of the program (specific what, when, where)

An example of an objective for coaching employees with elevated cholesterol might be:

To reduce the total cholesterol (specific what) of elevated risk workers with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions available at the worksite (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic & time specific when) to reduce the risk factor for heart disease (why).  

And one last example of a process mission for a smoking cessation program with an overall objective to assist  participants in committing to quit for life:

By the end of the 4-week smoking cessation program, 10 percent of the participants will have quit smoking.  Each participant will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the program’s end to determine quit status (process intention) and 10 percent of those who quit will still be smoke-free after one year.

You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including implementing your Employee Wellness Program Committee.  It is now time to plan your wellness activities!

Prior to you start creating your Workplace Wellness Program you need to have a benchmark.  Attaining a thorough needs assessment is vital to the effectiveness of your wellness program for two reasons:  First it ensures that your Workplace Wellness Program activities will be targeted to meet your company’s specific needs so that outcomes have the potential to be achieved.  Secondly the needs assessment supports the information you will need to evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.

It is frequently tempting to rush the assessment – especially when time is short or those with experience already have an idea of needs.  Do not give in to this temptation!  It is critical that you understand what your corporation needs are, what upper management expects, and what staff members want as well as expect, before you create a Employee Health Promotion Program.  

Consider and gather data on:

• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Health Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Rates of Absenteeism
• Company Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Upper Management’s expectations or desired outcomes

There are many ways to evaluate this information.  Although some of data gathering process may be time consuming, remember that it is nonetheless critical to plan programs that target specific issues.  This information will be critical to set objectives and goals and for evaluating program success.  How else can you know if outcomes have been achieved?

Options to help gather the information:

• Confidential Health Risk Appraisals (HRAs) with a Corporation Group Summary Report
• Wellness Screenings such as blood lipids, Blood Pressure (BP) and blood sugar click here for additional information on wellness screenings.
• Employee Needs and Interest Surveys
• Suggestion boxes placed around the organization
• Focus Groups or hosting a luncheon meeting as a focus group
• Sending out a confidential email questionnaire
• Review records and databases including OSHA logs, first aid reports, insurance costs  

Once your needs assessment is complete, the Company Health Promotion Program Committee can review the outcome and begin creating and prioritizing program options.  Beginning should be based upon goals and objectives and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!

Organizing an active Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee supports opportunities for both management and employee participation in the program.  The Wellness Committee ought to be a team of staff members and managers who formally meet to plan activities to promote healthier employee lifestyles.

Typical Functions of a Company Wellness Program Committee:

• Analyzing needs & interests
• Coming up with program ideas
• Developing activities
• Developing communication plans
• Promoting programs to co-employees
• Serving as champions of the Corporate Health Promotion Programs
• Assisting with evaluation  

Your Company Wellness Program Committee should be representative of all echelons of the employer.  Consider all sections of the workforce – multiple sites, shift employees, diversity (race, gender, ethnicity), and departments.   It’s also valuable to consider who will chair or co-chair the Company Wellness Program Committee and whether or not there are the finances to support a Company Wellness Program manager or occupational health professional, even on a part-time or contractual basis.  Click here for more information on the benefits of a health professional.  

Depending on your business size and resources, if you already have a business Safety Committee you might want to think about making it the Safety & Company Health Promotion Program Committee.  You have the potential to request volunteers or invite staff members to participate.  

The number of Company Health Promotion Program Committee participants is dependent upon the size of your business; however, you need sufficient participants to get the work done and yet not too many to keep it manageable, usually a minimum of 4 participants and maximum of 12 to 15 participants.  It’s valuable to include skeptics of wellness as well and not just those staff members already living healthy lifestyles.  

Depending on your workplace, consider representatives from the following areas:

• Employee representatives from a cross section of different departments,
• Senior Leadership
• Health and safety consultant(s),
• Human resources professional(s),
• Employee benefits representative or someone from finance,
• Your Employee Assistance Program provider (if applicable), Click here for more information on EAPs
• Occupational health employee (if applicable).

Establish an effective Employee Wellness Program Committee!  The Employee Wellness Program Committee should meet frequently with a planned agenda and action items.  Effective Wellness Committees have a shared mission, vision and goals/objectives.  Participants must believe that their participation is worthwhile and appreciated, that their work is important, benefits the organization and co-employees, and they are recognized for their contributions. Refer to the NC Workplace Programs section for examples of what other corporations have implemented.

As with any program, the two key elements for the performance of your wellness program are upper management support & employee involvement.  Senior Leadership determines the vision and supports the resources from which action plans flow.  Genuine support from senior personnel also brings credibility to the wellness program.  It is important that upper management be visible supporters and role models for your Worksite Health Promotion Program.

employees need to be involved on several levels so that they feel ownership of the wellness program.  Employees are the program stakeholders!  All employees must have an opportunity to offer input and feedback through needs & interest surveys and program assessment tools.  The information gathered must be used to plan programs that target those needs and interests to ensure participation, buy-in, and reinforcement.

There are several methods to identify employee needs and interests such as:

• Having Employee Focus Groups
• Examining Wellness Interests During Department gatherings
• Distributing and Encapsulating a Needs & Interest Survey
• (Including|Allowing for|Making sure to include} a Time to Give Recommendations on Each Assessment Tool  

Any one or combination of several techniques will ensure that the wellness program meets what staff members want.

Step 3 provides additional information on determining wellness program needs.  But first, starting a Company Health Promotion Program Committee can help you involve management & workers, determine need, and plan your wellness program.

A key to a successful Worksite Health Promotion Program requires management responsibility and employee involvement.

Company Health Promotion Program Step 2: Form a Company Health Promotion Program Committee

An active Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee sees to employee participation, provides buy-in, management support, and maintains a team that is prepared to take action to integrate wellness programs.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Step 3: Gather Data to Identify Key Needs and Expectations

The next vital step is to base the Company Health Promotion Program on the needs and interests of your company and its employees.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Step 4: Create Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives constitute the road maps to guide you where your program needs to go.   These constitute the foundation for planning and evaluating activities to ensure that your wellness program is going to meet your special needs.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Step 5: Organize a Detailed Action Plan

There is no such thing as too much planning!  The best of intentions can get lost, overstepped, or forgotten withoutadequate planning, and then it would be all for naught.

Employee Health Promotion Program Step 6: Choose and Launch a Plan

Now that you have the needs assessment data, a Employee Health Promotion Program Committee, objectives it’s now time to implement your plan!

Corporate Wellness Program Step 7: Monitor and Assess Your Corporate Wellness Program

Assessment is a critical step to keep a program focused, as well as to see that the program is reaching its objectives or achieving favorable outcome.

In Conclusion

These Seven Steps outline considerations for a all-inclusive approach to establishing an effective wellness program.  Can you start components of wellness activities without following these steps?  Absolutely, but you may not have the sustainability or ability to see desired outcomes.  Following the Seven Steps does not have to be confusing or burdensome.  A very simple approach can achieve a successful wellness program!

Therefore, to ensure a efficacious wellness program refer to the key components as you plan your program or better your current program:

• Upper Management Support & Employee Participation
• Active Employee Health Promotion Program Committee
• Company Health Promotion Program is Based on Employee Needs & Interests
• Company Wellness Program Goals and Objectives are Determined
• Detailed Employee Health Promotion Program Action Plan Based on Resources & Budget
• Worksite Wellness Program Implementation & Internal Marketing
• Evaluation of Company Wellness Program Outcomes