Health programs are designed to increase people’s ability to choose healthier behaviors and cope with illness and injury. They include community-based initiatives that focus on specific diseases, such as obesity, smoking, and heart disease; special clinics, such as those for sexually transmitted infections and obstetric and gynecological problems; and media campaigns to promote health-related behaviors, such as eating healthy foods and getting enough exercise.
These efforts are critical for the well-being of individuals and the broader health of communities. But achieving success in these complex areas requires more than just good intentions. It demands the attention of the whole organization, a shift in management priorities and a willingness to invest time and resources in building a culture of health.
A company’s health program can save employees money through lower insurance premiums, decreased out-of-pocket medical expenses, and a greater sense of overall physical wellbeing. And it can also improve employee morale and performance, resulting in greater productivity and a lower risk of absenteeism and workers’ compensation claims.
But implementing a comprehensive wellness program can be daunting, especially for small- and medium-size firms that do not have the in-house expertise or resources to support such an effort. Moreover, it can be tempting for managers to skip the investment in employee health, believing that it’s not really their business. But the evidence is clear that a strategically integrated health program can pay off, both financially and in terms of employee morale.
We examined the effect of community-based health improvement programs on county-level health outcomes using a pre-post design and comparing program counties with nonprogram ones. We found that the implementation of such programs is associated with a modest decrease in the prevalence of obesity and a smaller decrease in the proportion of people reporting being in fair or poor health. But these changes do not appear to be driven by the programs themselves: instead, they may be related to differences in the demographic characteristics of program and nonprogram counties.
In addition, we found that the implementation of these programs is associated with an increase in the number of people who receive preventive care, such as cancer screenings and immunizations. This suggests that the programs can be effective as a delivery mechanism for preventive care and in expanding access to it, even in communities with limited financial resources. However, it is important that the scope of the delivery system be clearly defined and based on evidence of what works. This will help guide future research and policy development. It will also be helpful to align incentives and delivery mechanisms with the goals of health equity. This will require an active role for leadership and management at all levels of the organization, including a clear definition of health equity and its measurement. And it will require a new operating model that integrates these goals into every aspect of the program, from setting goals and metrics to designing an overall approach.