Designing the Age Friendly Workplace1 Health Promotion

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace2 Key Points Health 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace3 The Health of Our Nation A 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?

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace4 Leading Causes of Death*, 2005 * In the United States of America Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace5 Leading Causes of Disability †, 1999 † Among adults in the United States of America (18+) Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace6 Chronic Illness An 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! Source: National Health Interview Survey

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace7 Diabetes An 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace8 Increasing Rates of Diabetes An Aging Issue Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace9 Chronic Illness What 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace10 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-Effectiveness Rule of Thumb

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace11 Prevention Proven 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace12 Prevention Existing Programs LEAN Works! – Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition – Workplace-based obesity prevention program – Can be found at built – Building trades Unite to Ignite Less Tobacco – Smoking cessation program developed for blue-collar workers in the construction trades

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace13 Prevention Existing 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”

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace14 Prevention Providing 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace15 Prevention Tracking 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace16 Preventive Health Services Proven 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace17 Health Promotion in Washington Percent 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, employers. Bondi et al. Am J Health Promot. 2006;20:

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace18 Health Promotion in Washington WA Workers Could Be Doing Better, Too Note: 40 percent of Washingtonians are already overweight or obese by ages Rises to 65 percent for those ages From Jeff Harris, MD, U. of Washington, May 21, 2007 Source: Hughes, Hannon et al. WA BRFSS; Workers w/ Ins., age 18-64,

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace19 Health Promotion in Washington We 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 State University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center December 2005

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace20 Preventive Services Providing 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace21 Health Promotion Summary 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

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace22 Time for a Break…