How to Conduct Screenings

2014 Prevention Campaign Fact Sheet

Vision of the National Prevention Strategy: Working together to improve the health and quality of life for individuals, families, 

and communities by moving the nation from a focus on sickness and disease to one based on prevention and wellness.

Common barriers that often prevent people from getting routine health screenings, such as 

inconvenience, cost, and lack of understanding, can be eliminated through workplace screening 

initiatives. There are two types of health screenings typically promoted by agencies: 

1. Laboratory/blood tests to detect health abnormalities, such as biometric screenings, offered 

through the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program or at an onsite health clinic; and 

2. Lifestyle questionnaires, such as a health risk appraisal (HRA), to identify risk factors.

Below are ways Federal agencies can offer screenings to improve the effectiveness of their worksite 

health and wellness programs.

FEHB PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE

All FEHB plans cover HRAs, biometric testing, and immunizations plus over 70 preventive services with 

no out of pocket costs. If this approach is taken, agencies get employees screened at no extra cost, 

employees learn how to get similar services for their family members, and results get back to the 

employee’s physician for any follow up that is needed. Many plans are even offering incentives for 

completion of HRAs and/or biometric testing. Agency worksite health & wellness coordinators should 

work with their agency benefits officers to promote these FEHB services and encourage employees to 

understand their specific plans, because there may be limits to networks and frequency. Preventive 

services that have a rating of A or B from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are covered by FEHB 

plans. You can see the complete list here: 

http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsabrecs.htm.

ONSITE HEALTH CLINICS

Onsite health clinics can provide convenient access to high quality preventive healthcare. A variety of 

services can be offered at agencies, such as biometric screenings, primary care, health coaching, disease 

management, occupational health, and more! These services are intended to reduce agency costs, 

improve employee health, increase productivity, and reduce long-term risk.

HRAS & OTHER LIFESTYLE SURVEYS

Typically, HRAs and other lifestyle surveys are offered annually to all employees to track progress. Some 

delivery modes used are online via a computer at home or work, kiosks at work, paper-and-pencil, 

personal interviews, and phone interviews. When choosing a delivery mode, agencies should consider 

which method will provide access to the most employees. An HRA can be the single point of entry to an 

agency worksite health promotion program and serve as a participation tracking tool. Feedback should 

be given to individual employees immediately upon completion of an HRA or during an individual 
coaching session. Some HRAs are capable of providing aggregate data without identifying individuals; 

this information can be useful to agency coordinators when planning future employee health program 

options. 

HEALTH FAIRS & SPECIAL EVENTS

Workplace health fairs are a great way to educate employees about health services available to them 

and the value of participating in preventive healthcare, such as screenings. Health fairs can include 

exhibitors from FEHB providers and various offices within your agency that have an interest in employee 

health (e.g., safety department, food service, Flexible Spending Accounts, Employee Assistance 

Programs, etc.). Agencies may also leverage external resources, including community organizations and 

universities. The best health fairs have a variety of activities, such as, but not limited to:

• Screenings

• Educational Information

• Chair Massages

• Yoga

• Healthy Cooking Demos

• First Aid

• Ergonomics

RESOURCES & GUIDANCE FOR WORKSITE HEALTH & WELLNESS COORDINATORS

U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Health & Wellness Federal Tools & Resources Page

From Governmentwide guidelines to sample resources and information on Federal agencies that play a 

key role in worksite health & wellness, many tools and resources are available on this website to help 

understand the basics of worksite health & wellness, explore issues in greater detail, and implement 

effective programs. 

CDC Workplace Health Promotion Employee Healthy Surveys

This site provides suggestions for the design, delivery, and assessment of employee health surveys.

CDC Healthier Worksite Initiative Health Risk Appraisals

CDC Healthier Worksite Initiative has developed guidance and considerations for the use of Health Risk 

Appraisals in the workplace. This site includes considerations for use, the purpose of HRAs, identifying 

what your workplace wants from an HRA, important implementation aspects (ethics, technical features, 

mode of administration, use of incentives and more), and a checklist for planning HRA implementation.

The National Business Group on Health & CDC’s Health Risk Appraisals at the Worksite Guide

This guide provides information to help employers make informed decisions about if, why, when, and 

how to use HRAs for their workforce. It includes an overview of HRAs, an HRA features prioritization 

checklist, and an HRA comparison checklist.