Developing a Worksite Health Promotion Program Plan for UNC Facilities Services Staff
Creators: name: Mayer, Melissa
name: Pember, Melissa
name: Guzman-Corrales, Laura
name: Brown, Meagan
name: Patel, Amy
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Background: Low-wage workers experience poorer health outcomes compared to high-wage workers, including increased risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, and a shorter life expectancy. Additionally, shift workers also face higher rates of disrupted sleep patterns, mental health problems, and gastrointestinal disorders. As most full-time employees spend over half of their waking hours at work, worksite health promotion programs (WHPPs) offer an important means of addressing many salient health issues, including those specifically faced by low-wage and shift workers. Effective WHPPs improve worker health, morale and job satisfaction, reduce absenteeism and injuries, increase productivity, lower healthcare premiums, and ultimately produce cost-saving benefits for employers. Despite the higher risk for disease and demonstrated positive health benefits of participation in WHPPs, low-wage and shift workers engage in WHPP activities at lower rates than their high-wage counterparts. Methods: The purpose of this Capstone project was 1) to conduct formative research to identify the needs, assets, and barriers to WHPP participation among low-wage shift workers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and 2) to develop a Wellness Action Plan of potential interventions for this population based on importance and feasibility. To address these aims, the Capstone team conducted a literature review and key informant interviews and focus groups discussions (FGDs) with upper management, direct supervisors, and frontline staff in the Facilities Services Division at UNC. Following data collection, a data analysis matrix was used to identify themes from the field notes gathered from interviews and FGDs. For the Wellness Action Plan, elements of the public health program-planning model PRECEDE-PROCEED were used to identify and prioritize determinants and precursors of the intervention strategies to address the health issues relevant to the population. Results: In sum, six upper managers, seven direct supervisors, and forty-two frontline staff participated in either a key informant interview or FGD. A number of individual, managerial, and organizational-level barriers were identified in both key informant interviews and FGDs, including the importance of management support, the need to incorporate wellness activities into the work shift, and insufficient communication about available programs and benefits. These findings were consistent with our findings in the literature review. These findings formed the basis for the Wellness Action Plan, which included low and high resource program options. The Wellness Action Plan recommendations were presented to two major stakeholders-the Work Well, Live Well (WWLW) Committee and the UNC Employee Forum Executive Committee. Discussion: These formative research results suggest that there is both a need and desire for WHPPs among low-wage shift workers at UNC and that some level of intervention is possible. The ultimate goal of our Capstone project is to present feasible WHPP recommendations for Facilities Services employees. Our Capstone project accomplished this goal through formative research and evidence-based recommendations for the selection and implementation of WHPPs within the Facilities Services Division. Our literature review, Formative Research Summary Report, and Wellness Action Plan can be used to guide WHPP decision making by the Carolina Collaborative for Research on Work and Health (CCRWH), the WWLW Committee, Facilities Services, and the 2014-2015 Capstone team.