Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

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!