Designing the Age Friendly Workplace
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Health Promotion
Designing the Age Friendly Workplace
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Key PointsHealth Promotion
•Health is an aging issue
•Promoting health throughout life canprevent chronic illness
•Promoting health can keep chronic illnessesunder control
•Promoting health can reduce health carecosts
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The Health of Our NationA Discussion
•What are the three leading causes of death in theUnited States?
•What are the three leading causes of disability inthe 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?
Designing the Age Friendly Workplace
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Leading Causes of Death*, 2005
* 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+)
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Chronic IllnessAn Aging Issue
•Many chronic illnessesbecome more commonwith age
•Chronic illnessesusually take a longtime to develop, whichmeans…
•They start developingwhen we’re young!
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 DiabetesAn Aging Issue
1.7
4.4
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Chronic IllnessWhat To Do
•Develop or enhance a health promotion programat your workplace
•Focus your energy on programs and policies thathave been proven to work
•Provide incentives
•Involve employees
•Track your results
–Health outcomes
–Costs and savings
Health Promotion information influencedby Jeff Harris’s work at the UW HealthPromotion 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 withdiabetes
Cost-Effectiveness
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 andNutrition
–Workplace-based obesity preventionprogram
–Can be found at www.cdc.gov/leanworks
•built
–Building trades Unite to Ignite LessTobacco
–Smoking cessation program developed forblue-collar workers in the constructiontrades
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PreventionExisting Programs
•Diabetes Prevention Program
–Changes to physical activity and diet can prevent ordelay Type II diabetes
–Can be found by googling “Diabetes PreventionProgram”
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PreventionProviding Incentives
•Having a health promotion program “on paper” is notenough to ensure your workers’ health
•Implementing health protections increases participationin 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 OTCsmoking 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
•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 WashingtonPercent of WA Insurance Policies that Cover…
…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
Note: 40 percent ofWashingtonians arealready overweightor obese by ages 18-24. Rises to 65percent for thoseages 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 preventiveservices
•Employees miss opportunities to promotetheir own health
•When preventive services are offered,employees don’t take advantage as much asthey 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 smokingcessation 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 toyour organization
•Education about the importance of preventivecare
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Health PromotionSummary
•Health is an aging issue
–Older workers are more likely to have chronic healthproblems
–Health promotion should start with younger workers
•We know how to prevent many chronic diseases
•Workplace health promotion programs can savelives and money
–Prevention: Physical activity, nutrition, smokingcessation programs and vaccines
–Detection and Management: Changing insurance tocover preventive services
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Time for a Break…