Paper
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Employee Health Fair Data as Evidence for Designing Health Promotion Programs
Christine A. Wynd, RN, PhD, CNAA, College of Nursing, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA
| Learning Objective #1: 1. Discuss aspects of employee health fair data that can be used to design health promotion programs. |
| Learning Objective #2: 2. Evaluate employee perceptions of health and their actual health habits and needs for prioritizing health promotion activities. |
The purpose of this study was to assess health data of hospital employees in order to design future health promotion programs targeted to the desires and goals of participants. Hospital employees (N = 1295) participated in separate health fairs over a 3-year period and provided health profile data about actual health status, perceptions of health, health habits, and health needs. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), self-reported ratings of stress, and metabolic screens for total cholesterol, high density lipoproteins (HDL), cholesterol/HDL ratios, blood sugar levels, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures constituted actual health status information. Questionnaires elicited information about perceptions of health, health habits, and health needs. The Transtheoretical Model for Change (TTM) served as a framework for the study and stages of change helped determine readiness for health behavior modifications. Actual health status demonstrated significantly lower total cholesterol readings, higher HDL levels, and lower systolic blood pressures over the 3-year period. Average individual body weights and BMIs did not change significantly; however, a slightly higher percentage of individuals fell into overweight and obese categories. Perceptions of health increased significantly over time. Prevalence of smoking remained at 15% across all three years while the average exercise rate increased slightly from 2.95 to 3.09 times per week. Seventy-four percent of employees reported feeling overweight and desired to lose an average of 32 pounds per individual; 51% of employees wanted to increase their daily physical activity levels. Forty-seven percent of employees were in the action stage of the TTM and were ready to move toward full behavior change adoption and maintenance. Employee health data can provide evidence for designing health promotion programs and may serve as a foundation for future health planning. Currently, interventions are being planned to assist employees with full change adoption and maintenance of a weight control/exercise lifestyle.