Health Assessment

  • A Framework for Patient-Centered Health Risk Assessments

    This 52 page report from the CDC entitled “A Framework for Patient Centered Health Risk Assessments” is a valuable set of recommendations.  This report is one of the major products…

    Downloads: 9

  • Advanced Directives Tool L3-9

    This tool addresses skills that are need to exercise advance directives. For our purposes, the definition of “advance directives” is as follows: “An advance healthcare directive, also known as living…

    Downloads: 7

  • Advice for Doctors to Prescribe Exercise

    Here is a practical set of recommendations and advice for physicians to help them prescribe exercise for their overweight and obese patients who want to lose weight. This short piece…

    Downloads: 20

  • AMSO Worksheet Tool L2-1

    The worksheet can be used to examine the extent to which a particular behavior or health risk factor addressed by your wellness program meets the requirements of the AMSO approach.…

    Downloads: 46

  • AMSO Worksheet Tool L3-2

    This tool is a worksheet that can be used to help you examine the extent to which your program is likely to produce long term behavior change. Using the worksheet…

    Downloads: 56

  • Annual Program Evaluation Survey Tool L1-11

    This tool is a sample of a program evaluation survey that can be used to evaluate a wide range of issues about the effectiveness of an employee wellness program. The…

    Downloads: 79

  • Assessing Organizational Readiness for Wellness Tool L2-12

    An organization’s readiness for Wellness and Well-being programming is usually shaped by senior management’s attitudes toward Wellness along with the propensity of the organization’s “culture,” meaning the commonly held set…

    Downloads: 38

  • Cancer Statistics 2018

    Cancer is the second most prevalent cause of death in the U.S. and is vying for number one.  It is also a major source of morbidity for a large portion…

    Downloads: 6

  • Cardiovascular Health: The Importance of Measuring Patient-Reported Health Status A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

    This article from the journal Circulation provides scientific justification for the importance of patient-reported health status.  This article is one of the clearest statements of the importance of patient reported…

    Downloads: 3

  • CDC Employee Health Assessment

    This resource from the Centers for Disease Control provides a template for an effective Health Risk Appraisal.  Use this resource to evaluate your existing HRA, and provide example HRAs to…

    Downloads: 19

  • Concept Paper Tool L3-1

    The workplace is an ideal site for the establishment of an employee wellness program. The many reasons for this are highlighted in this tool and can be used to help…

    Downloads: 15

  • Concept Paper Tool L4-1

    The purpose of this concept paper is to provide an objective overview of the potential associated with the introduction of a Worksite Wellness program within any organization.  The information presented…

    Downloads: 13

  • Consumer Health Education Tool L3-7

    This tool contains a detailed listing of consumer health education skills. Our definition of Consumer Health Education is: “The set of skills that enables the individual to efficiently and effectively…

    Downloads: 25

  • Corporate Wellness Services in the U.S.

    Why is this important? This 34 page report provides a concise summary of the size and major characteristics of the corporate wellness services industry in the U.S.    It is important because…

    Downloads: 51

  • Creating a Culture of Wellness Tool L4-8

    Creating a “culture of wellness” in your organization takes a lot of work.  It doesn’t happen by accident or serendipity!  There are a number of strategies that must be done…

    Downloads: 68

  • Data Collection Tool L4-2

    This tool contains a form that was developed in order to help you collect data for both the planning and evaluation of a Wellness program.  Once the data requested in…

    Downloads: 30

  • Declining Health-Related Quality of Life in the U.S.

    Why is this important? This 9-page article provides concrete proof that the U.S. working population is reporting lower quality of life satisfaction due primarily to health-related factors. Another way of thinking…

    Downloads: 16

  • Diagnostic Codes Tool L4-5

    This file contains conditions that are generally recognized as epidemiologically associated with specific lifestyle and health risk factors.  The diagnostic codes are from the International Classification of Disease Agreement- 9th…

    Downloads: 9

  • Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors by State: 1990 – 2016

    Why is this important? This 29-page article includes a great deal of state-specific information about the health status, health risks, life expectancy, premature mortality, and disability burden for a very large…

    Downloads: 15

  • Electronic Health Risk Assessment Adoption in an Integrated Healthcare System

    This large health system experience with an HRA provides many useful insights for worksite wellness practitioners.  The report reveals that HRA adoption was steady and methodical when supported by health…

    Downloads: 0

  • Evaluation of a Digital Behavioral Counseling Program for Reducing Risk Factors for Chronic Disease in a Workforce

    This open source article summarizes the evaluation of a trial of a digital coaching program in reducing key health risks in improving the incidence of major chronic diseases in working…

    Downloads: 16

  • Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the USPSTF

    This compendium of 9 peer review articles published in this month’s edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (January, 2018) provides an in-depth look at the USPSTF. The 9…

    Downloads: 10

  • Futuristic Look at Wellness Tool L4-13

    This tool is a futuristic scenario about a worksite wellness program. A Futuristic Look at Worksite Wellness: A Morning with Marie. Published 2016.

    Downloads: 22

  • Generational Differences Tool L4-14

    This tool has information that depicts some of the generational differences that exist in every working population and have clear implications for the design and implementation of worksite wellness programs. Published 2016.

    Downloads: 11

  • Genetic Information Doesn’t Lead to Health Behavior Change

    Summary:  This systematic review of the scientific evidence examines the effectiveness of genetic information on health behavior change.  Genetic testing is being increasingly used in a growing number of healthcare settings…

    Downloads: 3

  • Getting to “Yes” in Wellness – A Psychocatalytic Approach

    This 3 page article offers a novel way to open someone's thinking about wellness - either on the personal level or the organizational level.  Written by a Boston-based psychiatrist, this…

    Downloads: 27

  • Glossary of Health Insurance Terms Tool L4-6

    This tool contains the terms associated with the design, implementation, management and use of health insurance plans. Published 2016.

    Downloads: 15

  • Glossary of Wellness Terms Tool L1-1

    This tool is a newly expanded glossary of wellness and health terms. With more than 100 different terms included in the glossary it can be used as a source for…

    Downloads: 12

  • Group Activity Planning Worksheet Tool L1-9

    This tool provides a useful planning aid for the design and planning of group activities. The tool includes key issues that can help assure a successful group activity. There are…

    Downloads: 23

  • Health Monitor HRA Tool L1-14

    The Health Monitor represents a third generation HRA that has the potential to be used for a large number of follow-up interventions, such as those identified in Tool 1-8. The…

    Downloads: 16

  • Health Promotion in the Workplace – 5th Edition Michael P. O’Donnell, Editor

    This comprehensive resource for anyone desiring to plan, design, implement or evaluate a Worksite Wellness program has been made available for free by it's Editor Michael O'Donnell.  This 721 page…

    Downloads: 31

  • Hierarchy of Results Tool L4-11

    This tool contains a table that provides detail about the various possible results associated with worksite wellness programs. The results are presented in a hierarchy with the most foundational results…

    Downloads: 12

  • How much alcohol is “safe” to consume?

    Why is this important? This 11-page article presents a landmark analysis of the health risks associated with alcohol consumption. This global scientific effort applies meta-analysis statistical techniques to derive greater scientific…

    Downloads: 9

  • How to Calculate ROI Tool L2-10

    This tool includes two detailed examples of how to calculate the Return-on-Investment (ROI) of an employee wellness program using primarily health care cost changes. Example #1 is for situations where…

    Downloads: 55

  • How to Get Honest Answers from Employees in Your Wellness Program

    Employer wellness programs always need honest answers from employees when they complete health risk assessments (HRAs), health surveys and well-being assessments (WBAs).  Honest answers are needed from employees to enable…

    Downloads: 14

  • How valid is self-reported health data?

    This meta-analysis of relevant scientific literature evaluates the question whether we should trust data individuals give us about their health.  Based on our review of a considerable body of scientific…

    Downloads: 1

  • HRA Interventions Tool L3-11

    This tool contains a large number of possible follow-up interventions from information collected by a well-being assessment or health risk assessment. in addition to general advice about efforts that would…

    Downloads: 13

  • Ideal Health Plan Design Tool L4-7

    The Ideal Health Plan characteristics suggested here are for use in either public or private organizational settings and are appropriate for large, medium or small size employee groups. The Ideal…

    Downloads: 28

  • Ideal Health Plan Tool L3-10

    The Ideal Health Plan characteristics suggested here are for use in either public or private organizational settings and are appropriate for large, medium or small size employee groups. The Ideal…

    Downloads: 11

  • Ideal Incentive Program Tool L3-3

    This tool provides an overview of what an “ideal” long term wellness incentive program might look like. Short term 3-8 week wellness challenges can be conducted periodically, but the long…

    Downloads: 34

  • IDM Case Study Tool L4-3

    This tool contains an example of an organization with a conventional set of absence and disability benefits. The example below illustrates how the organization can progress from a conventional disparate absence…

    Downloads: 5

  • Incentive Pay Values with Survey Tool L4-16

    There are a large number of different types of possible incentive rewards that can be used in wellness programming. These are often referred to as “pay values.” For our purposes…

    Downloads: 19

  • Infographic on Mental Health Issues from COVID-19

    What is this about? This edition of Connections provides a very useful summary infographic on the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of American workers.  It comes from a think…

    Downloads: 37

  • Injury Prevention Skills Tool L3-8

    This tool contains a detailed listing of injury prevention skills. Our definition of “Injury Prevention” is as follows: “The set of skills each individual needs to minimize their personal risk…

    Downloads: 4

  • Listing of Biometric Measures Tool L2-7

    The file contains some of the key measures that are typical as components of biometric screening and testing in worksite wellness programs. Each biometric measure is identified along with its…

    Downloads: 1

  • Listing of Helpful Websites on Wellness

    What is this about? A major challenge for worksite wellness program managers is finding the many useful free websites on the Internet that can help with some aspect of the design…

    Downloads: 41

  • Loneliness in the Workplace: 2020 Cigna National Survey

    What is this about? This just-released 2 page summary infographic and 57 page full report based on a national sample of 10,000 U.S. employees surveyed in 2019 focuses on their perceptions…

    Downloads: 21

  • Master FAQ List Tool L2-2

    The file contains general responses to frequently asked questions that are often raised by key stakeholders about employee wellness programs.  You can augment these answers to suit your own organizational,…

    Downloads: 16

  • Medical Self-Care Skills Tool L3-6

    Medical Self-Care is an area of health knowledge and capability that addresses the way we consult medical references and use home medical equipment to diagnose and treat minor, self-limiting health…

    Downloads: 6

  • Modifiable Health Risk Factors for Young Workers

    This edition of Connections provides a focus on the modifiable health risk factors of young employees.  We know a lot about the health risk factors and needs of the older…

    Downloads: 14

  • Modular Program Evaluation Tool L3-13

    This tool provides examples of a modular program evaluation approach that can be used with an employer's wellness program. The idea for permanent or on-going program evaluation identified in previous…

    Downloads: 11

  • New Guidelines for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

    What is this about? The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have issued a new set of guidelines for the primary prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). …

    Downloads: 21

  • New National Guidelines for Physical Activity

    Why is this important? The combined authoritative weight of the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) signifies the importance of this national effort. …

    Downloads: 16

  • New Standard for Diagnosis of Hypertension

    On November 13, 2017,  the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) released a new report that recommends changing the clinical parameters for the diagnosis of…

    Downloads: 12

  • New Study on the Costs of Modifiable Health Risks

    Summary: This new study documents the excess risk premium (additional annual health costs) associated with 10 modifiable health risks from 7 industries and 223,461 employees covering the period 2007 to…

    Downloads: 30

  • Obesity in the Workplace: Impacts, Outcomes and Recommendations

    The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) is the authoritative group that provides guidance to health professionals that serve and care for employee populations in work organizations.  This…

    Downloads: 18

  • Physician Wisdom on Wellness

    Why is this important? This short, 4 page interview is important because it includes some great wisdom from the physician’s perspective about how to help patients (aka “employees”) get on the…

    Downloads: 21

  • Population Health: Behavioral and Social Science Insights

    This is a recently published compendium that highlights new and confirmed behavioral and social science findings that under-gird population health.  This 444 page document contains a large number of summary…

    Downloads: 9

  • Possible Interventions from HRA and Screening Data Tools L1-8

    This tool contains a detailed discussion of 60+ follow-up interventions that can be implemented from information that is collected through the completion of a Health Risk Assessment/ Well-being Survey combined…

    Downloads: 16

  • Possible Metrics Tool L4-12

    This publication provides an overview of a practical metric framework that can be used to guide the implementation and evaluation of an Health and Productivity Management (HPM) approach. It is…

    Downloads: 12

  • Prevalence and Trends in Lifetime Obesity

    Introduction: Estimates of obesity prevalence based on current BMI are an important, but incomplete indicator of the total effects of obesity on a population. Methods: In this study, data on…

    Downloads: 7

  • Program Descriptions of Effective Wellness Programs Tool L1-12

    This tool provides a description of 10 employer programs that have earned the prestigious C.Everett Koop awards. This is the highest honor that can be awarded to employers for their…

    Downloads: 29

  • Program Design Worksheet Tool L1-13

    This worksheet is to be used to help you plan and organize the various activities you are considering for your worksite wellness program. The worksheet uses the 6 step program…

    Downloads: 46

  • Program Planning Checklist Tool L1-10

    This tool provides a checklist organized around set time intervals before and after your program's launch. The questions are structured to help cover all the supportive environment issues around the…

    Downloads: 22

  • Reducing Metabolic Syndrome through a Wellness Intervention

    This recently published article in JOEM presents the findings of a 1 year program focused on the reduction of metabolic syndrome risk among a health plan employee population. The aim of…

    Downloads: 11

  • Results Hierarchy Tool L3-5

    This tool consists of a table that provides detail about the various possible results associated with worksite wellness programs. The results are presented in a hierarchy with the most foundational…

    Downloads: 13

  • Sample Wellness Program Budget Tool L2-8

    The file contains a sample budget developed as part of the National Healthy Worksite Program sponsored by the CDC and established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of…

    Downloads: 35

  • Sample Wellness Proposal Tool L4-10

    The tool is a draft proposal is for a state-of-the-art employee wellness program for a company with approximately 18,000 employees.  This proposal can be modified and edited more extensively for…

    Downloads: 47

  • Strengthening your efforts against Diabetes

    What is this about? This edition of Connections newsletter provides two recent very important articles/studies on our need to address prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes in our working population.  In June,…

    Downloads: 16

  • Summary of Injury Prevention Skills Tool L4-4

    This tool contains key injury prevention skills and related questions for work, home, vehicular and recreational pursuits. Published 2016.

    Downloads: 2

  • Technology Infrastructure for Wellness Programs Tool L1-6

    This tool identified the various virtual interventions that constitute the core of an employee wellness programs. This technology is designed to perform all the basic functions of effective wellness programs.…

    Downloads: 17

  • The Future of Public Health

    Summary: This summary article originally presented at the prestigious Shattuck Lecture at the Massachusetts Medical Society, by the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and provides a…

    Downloads: 10

  • The Global Mental Health Disease Burden: 1990-2019

    What is this about? This edition of Connections newsletter provides a copy of the recent article published in the respected peer review journal The Lancet Psychiatry on the Global Burden of…

    Downloads: 12

  • Update on Status and Clinical Significance of Obesity

    Summary: These two new articles from JAMA provide clear epidemiological and clinical evidence regarding our need to further address obesity in all populations. Recent epidemiological evidence places a new urgency…

    Downloads: 16

  • Updated HERO Data Tool L4-9

    The Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a Birmingham, Alabama based non-profit corporation, maintains a multi-employer health risk and health cost database.  This database has been used to provide invaluable insights…

    Downloads: 10

  • Viewpoint on Health Literacy

    This recently published article from JAMA highlights the significance and key implications of the growing problem of health literacy. The National Academy of Sciences has also published a series of…

    Downloads: 3

  • Wellness Challenge Case Study – The Everett Clinic

    These case study highlights portray a successful wellness program in a multi-specialty, multi-site clinic in Western Washington.  Key evaluation dashboard findings are highlighted and case details are provided.

    Downloads: 4

  • Wellness Interest Survey Tool L1-2

    This tool is a wellness interest survey that can be used to help plan a worksite wellness program. It contains a range of questions on representativeness, wellness interests, program preferences,…

    Downloads: 36

  • Wellness Metrics Tool L2-9

    The file contains the major organizational goals and recommended metrics for use in a wellness program management dashboard. These are organized around the constructs of productivity, cost reduction and program…

    Downloads: 29

  • Wellness Programming and Preventive Service Use

    Introduction: There is little research at the national level on access to employee wellness programs and the use of preventive care services. This study examined the use of seven preventive…

    Downloads: 11

  • What to Look For During a Walk-Through Tool L2-13

    When planning an employee wellness program it is important to have a good understanding of the physical nature of the work performed by employees throughout the organization and the actual…

    Downloads: 5

  • What’s New in Obesity Management?

    This 13 page Review article provides an excellent overview of the medical issues in understanding obesity and its management. With more than 2/3 rds of Americans over the age of…

    Downloads: 28