Wellness champion networks associated with higher participation rates and behavior change
Vice President, Research, StayWell Health Management
Many U.S.
based companies create employee wellness champion or health ambassador networks
to build grass-roots support for their health management programs. Of 1,154
organizations that completed a HERO Scorecard, 52% reported having such a
network in place. One reason that nearly half of the responding organizations
have not established wellness champion networks might be that there is little
research on their effectiveness. Much of
the existing effectiveness research is based on models in which individuals are
trained to provide support for peers addressing a specific health need (such as
weight management or diabetes self-care), rather than to encourage good health practices and
participation in local level wellness programs (The Art of Health Promotion,
Sept/Oct 2013). Additional research is
needed to support the value proposition and outcomes associated with this
broader wellness champion role.
An analysis
of HERO Scorecard responses was conducted to determine whether organizations
with wellness champion networks had higher participation rates in programs,
better health outcomes, or better financial cost impacts than organizations
without wellness champion networks in place. Of the organizations represented
in the analysis, approximately a fourth (26%) had fewer than 500 employees.
While about
half of respondents had wellness champion networks, 29% reported having an
organized network of individuals at most worksite locations with formal
internal communication channels and periodic meetings – in other words, a very
robust initiative -- while 23% reported having wellness champions at some
worksite locations who received internal communications. As might be expected,
those with higher overall HERO Scorecard scores were more likely to have the
most robust wellness champion networks.
When the respondents were divided into three groups of equal size based
on score, 53% of those in the highest category of HERO Scorecard scores had the
most robust level of wellness champion support compared to only 9% of the
lowest-scoring organizations.
Since larger
organizations tend to have higher scores, the analysis was stratified based on
organization size. Unlike trends observed for many of the health management
practices in the HERO Scorecard, smaller organizations were more likely to have
the most robust levels of wellness champion network support for their health
management program in every score category. In the highest scoring category,
smaller organizations were about 11% more likely than larger organizations to
have an organized wellness champion network. One reason for this may be because
smaller organizations have fewer locations, making the network easier to
develop and manage.
Respondents
are asked to provide program participation rates and an assessment of the
impact of their program on health risk impact and medical plan cost; about 400
employers provided responses to these optional questions. An analysis of this
data found little association between level of wellness champion support and
participation rates in various program components. However, in examining the
influence of wellness champion networks on outcomes, a much stronger
association was observed. Since the earlier descriptive analysis indicated
organizations with higher levels of support also had higher HERO Scorecard
scores, a stratified analysis was conducted based on organizations with the
highest category of scores. Sixty one percent of organizations with an
organized wellness champion network or wellness champions at some locations
reported significant impacts on health risks compared to only 35% of
organizations that recruit volunteers or with little or no grass-root support.
Similarly, 56% of organizations with the highest levels of support reported a
substantial positive impact on medical trend compared to 44% of organizations
with the lowest levels of support.
Percent
reporting a significant improvement in health risk due to Employee Health
Management (EHM):
Management (EHM):
•
35%
of employers with the most robust wellness champion networks
•
26%
of employers with wellness champs at some locations
•
14%
of employers that recruit volunteers to help with EHM activities
•
21%
of employers with little or no grass-roots support for EHM
Percent
reporting that EHM has had a substantial positive impact on their medical
trend:
•
28%
of employers with the most robust wellness champion networks
•
28%
of employers with wellness champs at some locations
•
23%
of employers that recruit volunteers to help with EHM activities
•
21%
of employers with little or no grass-roots support for EHM
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