The authors, believe that interest in this area is increasing, comparing a 2006 study which found 19 per cent of companies with more than 500 employees had some sort of wellness programme to a 2008 survey of large manufacturers which showed that 77 per cent of them had introduced programmes.
Their research is literature based and 90 per cent of the wellness programmes they looked at existed in large firms of more than 1000 employees. The studies they reviewed, in the main, followed wellness programmes for a period of three years. The top areas of focus for programmes were smoking and obesity, which they affirm are the top causes of preventable death in the US. They admit there are some issues with the evidence available which may make generalisations difficult, for example the likelihood that healthy employees are more likely to join such programmes and low response rates in some cases. However, they argue that the studies they reviewed did show evidence of a return on investment for large employers and believe if wellness programmes were adopted more widely they could not only reduce healthcare costs and absenteeism but also have benefits for health improvement, reduce staff turnover and increase productivity. In summary they found that:
- Medical costs fall approximately $3.27 for every $1 spent on wellness programmes.
- Absenteeism costs fall approximately $2.73 for every $1 spent on wellness programmes.
As a next step they conclude that it is important to understand what factors make these programmes successful and why they are not more widely adopted. They are also keen to understand whether smaller employers would see the same return on investment.
For more information visit the Health Affairs website.