Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

The backbone of wellness programming at the workplace is health assessment. It is the first primary activity a company should do when first starting a wellness program. Health assessment is frequently used in conjunction with the administration of a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA).

The most effective way to screen is to utilize a health professional trained in wellness screening techniques and counseling to privately and individually evaluate participants. This wellness professional takes a brief health history and measures Blood Pressure and cholesterol. With computerized cholesterol desktop analyzers, results are obtained in about four minutes.

Immediate feedback, consultation, and educational materials are given. For those identified at-risk, follow-up appointments can be scheduled at this time. The whole process takes about twenty minutes per individual. The screening also supplies an immediate opportunity to register participants in various health improvement programs based on their interests and identified health risks.

Health evaluation can be done on an yearly basis and used as a means of monitoring health risks within the workplace.

A health screening program needs to provide multiple opportunities for participation. The service must be offered for all the various shifts of a business. The screening program must be conducted in highly visible areas so the process can be observed.

Reluctant employees frequently like to be able to see what the program is about before they participate. When wellness screeners are not busy, they should perform outreach going to areas where employees gather and attempt to recruit employees.

When well-planned and promoted, health evaluation can attract participation rates of 60% to 100%. These high participation rates have a positive effect on management producing support for further programming.