Preventing chronic disease in the workplace: a workshop report and recommendations

Abstract

Chronic disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Risk factors and work conditions can be addressed through health promotion aimed at improving individual health behaviors; health protection, including occupational safety and health interventions; and efforts to support the work-family interface. Responding to the need to address chronic disease at worksites, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a workshop to identify research priorities to advance knowledge and implementation of effective strategies to reduce chronic disease risk. Workshop participants outlined a conceptual framework and corresponding research agenda to address chronic disease prevention by integrating health promotion and health protection in the workplace.

FIGURE 1

Conceptual model illustrating the 3 intervention targets and opportunities for collaboration, integration, and synergy: Workshop on Worksite Chronic Disease Prevention, Bethesda, MD, May 21–22, 2009.