Prevalence of Workplace Health Practices and Policies in Hospitals: Results From the Workplace Health in America Study

Purpose: To provide a nationally representative description on the prevalences of policies, practices, programs, and supports relating to worksite wellness in US hospitals. Design: Cross-sectional, self-report of hospitals participating in Workplace Health in America (WHA) survey from November 2016 through September 2017. Setting: Hospitals across the United States. Participants: Random sample of 338 eligible hospitals participating in the WHA survey. Measures: We used previous items from the 2004 National Worksite Health Promotion survey. Key measures included presence of Worksite Health Promotion programs, evidence-based strategies, health screenings, disease management programs, incentives, work-life policies, barriers to health promotion program implementation, and occupational safety and health. Analysis: Independent variables included hospital characteristics (eg, size). Dependent characteristics included worksite health promotion components. Descriptive statistics and χ2 analyses were used. Results: Eighty-two percent of hospitals offered a wellness programs during the previous year with larger hospitals more likely than smaller hospitals to offer programs ( P < .01). Among hospitals with wellness programs, 69% offered nutrition programs, 74% offered physical activity (PA) programs, and 84% had a policy to restrict all tobacco use. Among those with cafeterias or vending machines, 40% had a policy for healthier foods. Only 47% and 25% of hospitals offered lactation support or healthy sleep programs, respectively. Conclusion: Most hospitals offer wellness programs. However, there remain hospitals that do not offer wellness programs. Among those that have wellness programs, most offer supports for nutrition, PA, and tobacco control. Few hospitals offered programs on healthy sleep or lactation support.

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Worksite Health Promotion for Low-Wage Workers: A Scoping Literature Review

American Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/0890117117728607 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 359-373 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Emily Stiehl ◽

Namrata Shivaprakash ◽

Esther Thatcher ◽

India J. Ornelas ◽

Shawn Kneipp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Workplace Health Promotion ◽

Data Extraction ◽

The United States ◽

Worksite Health Promotion ◽

Workplace Health ◽

Health Promotion Programs ◽

Scoping Literature Review ◽

Worksite Health ◽

Health Promotion Interventions

Objective: To determine: (1) What research has been done on health promotion interventions for low-wage workers and (2) what factors are associated with effective low-wage workers’ health promotion programs. Data Source: This review includes articles from PubMed and PsychINFO published in or before July 2016. Study Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: The search yielded 130 unique articles, 35 met the inclusion criteria: (1) being conducted in the United States, (2) including an intervention or empirical data around health promotion among adult low-wage workers, and (3) measuring changes in low-wage worker health. Data Extraction: Central features of the selected studies were extracted, including the theoretical foundation; study design; health promotion intervention content and delivery format; intervention-targeted outcomes; sample characteristics; and work, occupational, and industry characteristics. Data Analysis: Consistent with a scoping review, we used a descriptive, content analysis approach to analyze extracted data. All authors agreed upon emergent themes and 2 authors independently coded data extracted from each article. Results: The results suggest that the research on low-wage workers’ health promotion is limited, but increasing, and that low-wage workers have limited access to and utilization of worksite health promotion programs. Conclusion: Workplace health promotion programs could have a positive effect on low-wage workers, but more work is needed to understand how to expand access, what drives participation, and which delivery mechanisms are most effective.

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Results of the Workplace Health in America Survey

American Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/0890117119842047 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 652-665 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Laura A. Linnan ◽

Laurie Cluff ◽

Jason E. Lang ◽

Michael Penne ◽

Maija S. Leff

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

Workplace Health Promotion ◽

Occupational Safety And Health ◽

Self Report ◽

Health Programs ◽

Workplace Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Comprehensive Programs

Purpose: To provide a nationally representative snapshot of workplace health promotion (WHP) and protection practices among United States worksites. Design: Cross-sectional, self-report Workplace Health in America (WHA) Survey between November 2016 and September 2017. Setting: National. Participants: Random sample of US worksites with ≥10 employees, stratified by region, size, and North American Industrial Classification System sector. Measures: Workplace health promotion programs, program administration, evidence-based strategies, health screenings, disease management, incentives, work–life policies, implementation barriers, and occupational safety and health (OSH). Analysis: Descriptive statistics, t tests, and logistic regression. Results: Among eligible worksites, 10.1% (n = 3109) responded, 2843 retained in final sample, and 46.1% offered some type of WHP program. The proportion of comparable worksites with comprehensive programs (as defined in Healthy People 2010) rose from 6.9% in 2004 to 17.1% in 2017 ( P < .001). Occupational safety and health programs were more prevalent than WHP programs, and 83.5% of all worksites had an individual responsible for employee safety, while only 72.2% of those with a WHP program had an individual responsible for it. Smaller worksites were less likely than larger to offer most programs. Conclusion: The prevalence of WHP programs has increased but remains low across most health programs; few worksites have comprehensive programs. Smaller worksites have persistent deficits and require targeted approaches; integrated OSH and WHP efforts may help. Ongoing monitoring using the WHA Survey benchmarks OSH and WHP in US worksites, updates estimates from previous surveys, and identifies gaps in research and practice.

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