designing the age friendly workplace1 health promotion

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace

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Health Promotion


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Key PointsHealth Promotion

• Health is an aging issue• Promoting health throughout life can

prevent chronic illness• Promoting health can keep chronic

illnesses under control• Promoting health can reduce health

care costs


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The Health of Our NationA Discussion

• What are the three leading causes of death in the United States?

• What are the three leading causes of disability in the United States?

• Of the six…– How many can be prevented? _____– How many can be managed? _____– How many are related to age? _____ – How are they related to age?


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Leading Causes of Death*, 2005

26.6

22.8

5.9

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Diseases of the Heart

All Cancers

Stroke

COPD

Unintentional Injuries

Diabetes Mellitus

Influenza & Pneumonia

Alzheimer's Disease

Nephritis & Nephrosis

% of total deaths* In the United States of America

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


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Leading Causes of Disability†, 1999

† Among adults in the United States of America (18+)


17.516.5

7.8

0 5 10 15 20

Arthritis / Rheumatism

Back / Spine

Heart

Respiratory

Deafness / Hearing

Stiff / Deformed Limb

Mental / Emotional

Diabetes

Blindness / Vision

Stroke

% of all disabilities


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Chronic IllnessAn Aging Issue

• Many chronic illnesses become more common with age

• Chronic illnesses usually take a long time to develop, which means…

• They start developing when we’re young!

0

5

10

15

20

% with Diabetes

18-4445-6465-7475+

Age Group

Diabetes and Age

Source: National Health Interview Survey


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DiabetesAn Example of an Aging Issue

• Diabetes comes in different types– Type I - Primarily due to genetics– Type II - Is related to aging, diet and

exercise• Can be prevented• Formerly called “adult onset” diabetes

• Diabetes is an aging issue


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Increasing Rates of Diabetes An Aging Issue

Incidence of Diabetes Among 18-44 Year Olds

0

1

2

3

4

5

19801982198419861988199019921994199619982000200220042006

Year

Number of New Cases per

1,000 People

1.74.4



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Chronic IllnessWhat To Do

• Develop or enhance a health promotion program at your workplace

• Focus your energy on programs and policies that have been proven to work

• Provide incentives• Involve employees• Track your results– Health outcomes– Costs and savings

Health Promotion information influenced by Jeff Harris’s work at the UW Health Promotion Research Center


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Three Levels of Health Promotion

1. Prevention– Stop the disease before it

starts!– e.g. vaccines, seat belts

2. Detection– Catch it early– e.g. cancer screening tests

3. Management– Keep it from getting worse– e.g. a diet for someone with

diabetes Cost-

Eff

ecti

ven

ess

Rule of Thumb


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PreventionProven Approaches

• The Guide to Community Preventive Services

• Covering Clinical Services with Insurance– Smoking cessation counseling– Coverage of OTC smoking medication– Vaccines (e.g. influenza)

• Promoting Health in the Workplace– Physical activity– Nutrition– Smoking cessation


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PreventionExisting Programs

• LEAN Works!– Leading Employees to Activity and

Nutrition– Workplace-based obesity prevention

program– Can be found at www.cdc.gov/leanworks

• built– Building trades Unite to Ignite Less

Tobacco– Smoking cessation program developed

for blue-collar workers in the construction trades


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PreventionExisting Programs

• Diabetes Prevention Program– Changes to physical activity and diet can

prevent or delay Type II diabetes– Can be found by googling “Diabetes

Prevention Program”


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PreventionProviding Incentives

• Having a health promotion program “on paper” is not enough to ensure your workers’ health

• Implementing health protections increases participation in health promotion activities

• Workplace incentives to exercise and eat well– Exercise is available on-site and/or can be done on the clock– A variety of healthy food is affordable and accessible on-site– Health information on-site is widely available (e.g. point-of-

decision prompts)– Individually-adapted behavior change programs– Sharing the cost of gym memberships– Eliminating co-pays for smoking cessation counseling and

OTC smoking cessation medication


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PreventionTracking the Results

• Health-based measures (direct)– Disease rates– Weight or Body Mass Index (BMI)

• Participation-based measures (indirect)– Hours of exercise per week– Numbers of employees enrolled in a particular program

or service– Numbers of employees who complete a given program– Vegetable and fruit sales in the cafeteria or vending

machine

• Web-based tracking


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Preventive Health ServicesProven Approaches

• The Guide to Clinical Preventive Services• Influenza vaccinations• Screening tests are available for…– Various types of cancer– Heart disease– Diabetes– Musculoskeletal conditions (e.g. back pain)– And more…

• Chronic disease management protocols


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Health Promotion in Washington Percent of WA Insurance Policies that Cover…

80

68

55

10

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Mammogram

Colon Cancer Screening Test

Flu Vaccine

Smoking Meds, Counseling

OTC Nicotine Replacement

…and the percent that don’t.

94%90%

45%

32%

20%

From Jeff Harris, MD, U. of Washington, May 21, 2007 2180 employers. Bondi et al. Am J Health Promot. 2006;20:214-22.


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Health Promotion in WashingtonWA Workers Could Be Doing Better, Too

16

43

47

61

69

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Smoke

Have Low PhysicalActivity

Missed ColonCancer Screening

Are Overweight orObese

Missed a Flu Shot

Note: 40 percent of Washingtonians are already overweight or obese by ages 18-24. Rises to 65 percent for those ages 45-54.

From Jeff Harris, MD, U. of Washington, May 21, 2007 Source: Hughes, Hannon et al. WA BRFSS; Workers w/ Ins., age 18-64, 2004-5.


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Health Promotion in WashingtonWe Know What To Do, But…

• Employers under-purchase preventive services

• Employees miss opportunities to promote their own health

• When preventive services are offered, employees don’t take advantage as much as they should

From: Employment Based Prevention of Chronic Disease in Washington StateUniversity of Washington Health Promotion Research Center December 2005


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Preventive ServicesProviding Incentives

• Eliminate co-pays for effective preventive services– Especially for cost-effective services like smoking

cessation counseling & medication, flu vaccines, colonoscopies & mammograms

• Provide flu vaccinations at your organization• Health care provider visits for preventive services– On the clock– Travel reimbursement– Have a nurse practitioner or physician assistant come to

your organization

• Education about the importance of preventive care


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Health PromotionSummary

• Health is an aging issue– Older workers are more likely to have chronic health

problems– Health promotion should start with younger workers

• We know how to prevent many chronic diseases• Workplace health promotion programs can save

lives and money– Prevention: Physical activity, nutrition, smoking

cessation programs and vaccines– Detection and Management: Changing insurance to

cover preventive services


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Time for a Break…


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Health PromotionWhat To Do1

1. Identify your priorities2. Create a plan to address your priorities3. Implement your plan and build on it

1 Planning approach adapted from “The Breakthrough Strategy,” developed by Robert Schaeffer


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1. Identify a Health Promotion PriorityWhat Will Make a Difference?

• What Is Your Priority?–What’s important for the future of your

organization?–What will people in your organization

really care about?

Obesity Prevention

Smoking Cessation

Flu Vaccination

s

Disease Screening

Insurance Coverage


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2. Create a PlanHow Do You Achieve Your Objectives?

• How will you measure “success”? ________– Pick a good way to measure your top priority–How much will you change? ________–Hint: Start small to generate momentum

• Do you have a baseline?• Who is accountable?–Who is the champion? _______________– Is it a team effort? If so, who’s on the team?


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• What is the timeline?– When will it all be done? ____/ ____/ ______– How often will you need to meet for progress

updates?

• What, exactly, do you need to do to make it happen?– Step 1:__________________________________________– Step 2: _________________________________________– Step 3: _________________________________________– Step 4: _________________________________________– Etc.


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• What might get in the way? • How will you respond?

Challenge Response


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Type of Goal GoalHow It

Will Happen

Who Will Ensure It

Does

When It Will

Finish

Challenges &

ResponsesThe Work Environment

Health Promotion

Work/Life Balance- In the Workplace- In the Community

The Age Friendly Workplace

designing the age friendly workplace1 health promotion

Documents

prevention slide

health promotion program

age friendly workplace8

age friendly workplace10

age friendly workplace3

levels of health promotion

age chronic illnesses

aging issue slide