Step 4: Determine Priorities

Step 1   |  Step 2  |  Step 3  |  Step 4  |  Step 5  |  Step 6  |  Step 7

Once you’ve assessed your employees, use the results to set your worksite wellness program's priorities. Typically, wellness programs have two different focuses - either a lifestyle management focus or a disease management focus.  But, feel free to incorporate aspects from both!   
  • Lifestyle Management Programs: have a specific focus on preventing chronic disease through behavior change like physical activity, healthy nutrition, mental health management and tobacco cessation    
  • Disease Management Programs: have a specific focus on reducing or managing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and asthma  

Regardless of the focus you choose, the implementation strategies are the same.  Below, learn about each strategy in more detail.  Education is the building block of all worksite wellness programs. Team members will not take action if they do not know why they should.  Once the foundation is set through (ongoing) education, the following strategies - activities, environmental change, policy change - can be set into motion. 

 

IF YOUR ORGANIZATION IS... 

  • Small: Focus on lifestyle management.   
  • Medium:  Focus on lifestyle management. Sprinkle in disease management when and if resources allow.  
  • Large: If resources allow, your program should encompass both lifestyle and disease management focuses.  For more information, use the Louisiana Business Group on Health Toolkit.  


StrateGies

Education

Education is the building block for behavior change. It includes providing participants access to information and knowledge needed to make health and wellness decisions. This method typically includes: educational email blasts, informational flyers and access to health and wellness resources, etc.

Activities

Activities take the education provided and help put it into action. This method takes the “why” and combines it with the “how” to produce a realistic and practical step toward long-term goals.  

  • Activities in a lifestyle focused program are things like: wellness challenges, participation in run/walks, participation in onsite or offsite physical activity classes or memberships, participation in onsite or offsite wellness screenings, etc.
  • Activities in a disease management focused program are things like: organizing a diabetes self-management class, planning a seminar that teaches how to conduct chest compressions or having a lunch-and-learn that provides tips on living with asthma.

Environmental Change

Environmental change involves taking small steps in your workplace to create a healthier work environment for employees, patients, patrons and visitors. Environmental changes include: healthy vending/provided food options, access to clean drinking water, access to a refrigerator to store employee lunches/snacks, access to a clean space for breastfeeding mothers to pump, etc.

Policy Change

Policy changes can help provide support for the environmental changes made to better employee, patient, patron and visitor’s health and wellness. Policy change that can be accomplished through a worksite wellness program include but are not limited to: tobacco and smoke-free policies, breastfeeding friendly policy, healthy vending policy, and healthy meeting policy. 

STEP 3     Step 5