Health improvement from a worksite health promotion private-public partnership

Abstract

Objective: To examine the impact of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Wellness at Work program on health risks of employees from 10 New York City organizations at 26 worksites.

Methods: Employer sites were matched and assigned to receive either moderate or high intensity health promotion interventions. Changes from time 1 to time 3 in employees' risk status on 12 health risks were examined using chi and t tests for a cohort group (N = 930). Comparisons between moderate and high intensity groups used multivariate methods, controlling for confounders.

Results: From time 1 to time 3, both moderate and high intensity sites demonstrated significant risk reductions. Nevertheless, comparisons by intervention intensity did not reveal significant differences between treatment conditions.

Conclusions: Private-public partnerships to promote employee health in the workplace have the potential to reduce health risks that are precursors to chronic disease.