The long term objective of this proposal is to provide information to employers and public policymakers about the effect of workplace health promotion on worker productivity, health and health care costs.
The specific aims of this proposal are to examine the prevalence, health benefits and health care cost impact of health promotion and disease prevention programs offered by employers to their workers. Workplace health promotion and disease prevention programs are defined as any workplace policy, facility or program intended to change employee behavior in a way to increase health. These include, but are not limited to: programs to encourage and facilitate exercise, programs and policies to discourage smoking and/or promote smoking cessation, Stress reduction programs, programs to screen for manageable chronic conditions such as hypertension and high cholesterol, cancer screening and health care policies to improve prenatal care and birth outcomes. We will examine these research questions using nationally representative data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). The use of nationally representative surveys will allow us to determine the extend of these programs in the United States, and their overall impact on both per capita and total health expenditures. The results of this study will increase our knowledge of the extent, effectiveness and costs impacts of these programs. The results of this study can be used to guide employers as to what type of health promotion programs to offer, and can be used by policymakers as a guide as to what type of programs to promote or mandate .
