CDC: Nearly half of all US worksites offer health programs

A new study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that almost half of all US worksites offered some type of health promotion or wellness program in 2017.

The “2017 Workplace Health in America” report, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is the first government survey of workplace health promotion programs in 13 years, WorkersCompensation.com reported.

Together with researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, CDC surveyed nearly 3,000 diverse worksites. Workers were asked about their health promotion programs and policies.

According to the report, almost 30% of worksites nationally offered some type of program to address physical activity, fitness, or sedentary behavior. Another 19% of worksites offered a program to discourage employees from using tobacco products, and 17% offered a program which addresses obesity or involves weight management.

The report noted that workplace health promotion programs can save companies money by reducing healthcare and absenteeism costs, as well as improving worker productivity.

“The study shows the opportunity to continue to increase workplace health promotion programs among small employers across the US,” commented Jason Lang, M.P.H, M.S., team leader of the CDC - National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s Workplace Health Program and co-author of the report.

“Preventable health conditions such as obesity and heart disease can be improved through effective and comprehensive workplace health promotion and disease prevention programs.”

Other key findings of the report include:

• The percentage of worksites with a workplace health promotion program increased with the size of the employer. Researchers found that 39% of worksites with 10-24 employees had health promotion programs, while 60% of worksites with 50-99 employees had programs; it goes all the way up to 92% of worksites with 500 or more employees.
• More than half (69%) of worksites that had a health promotion program in 2017 had it in place for three years or longer.
• 20% of worksites offered programs to address stress management.
• Fourteen per cent (14%) offered programs to address excessive alcohol and other drug misuse.
• Seventeen per cent (17%) of worksites had a comprehensive workplace health promotion program in 2017 – a noticeable increase from 7% in 2004.
• The odds of having a comprehensive health program are significantly increased if a company has a designated staff person, budget, and some experience offering health promotion programs.