Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals, are an assessment tool or questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information to help  individuals in making healthy changes that influence their health and prevent chronic disease.

Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals have four standard elements in worksite settings:
• A Questionnaire
• A Computerized Program to Evaluate Health Risk Factors
• Confidential Individual Reports
• Group Summary Report

Staff Members complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example nutrition practices, height and weight, exercise habits, family history, stress perceptions, smoking history, and work satisfaction. Another significant feature to consider is readiness to change questions to determine participation interest. Including wellness screenings such as blood lipids and Blood Pressure (BP) results increases the advantages of an Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment by providing a more accurate health assessment and therefore improving lifestyle choice decisions and program options. Still, it is significant to determine if the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment can be used without including this information.

The health risk questionnaire information is entered into a computer program and an individual confidential report is generated that summarizes health risks as well as information on how to reduce risk factors. Individual reports are fully confidential. Depending on the reason for launching the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, it’s important to consider the type of report the company will receive as well. A group report summarizing major risk factors and recommendations for programs to implement in order to reduce employee and company risks supplies important information for your wellness program.

The Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments can be used to:
• Raise awareness to individual employee’s health status
• Encourage employees to make healthier lifestyle changes
• Coach high-risk employees
• Plan Worksite Health Promotion Programs based on the identified needs
• Assess program success by comparing Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals completed at set intervals such as yearly.