Employee Wellness Plans Discussed at World Health Assembly
The 61st annual World Health Assembly is taking place this week in Geneva, Switzerland and at this assembly; the World Health Organization (WHO) is presenting its report titled “Preventing Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) in the Workplace through Diet and Physical Activity.”
The report calls for Employee Wellness Plans to be promoted and implemented worldwide.
Importance of Employee Wellness Plans
The report notes that Non-Communicable Disease related deaths have surpassed transferable disease related deaths and have become the leading global killers. Examples of Non-Communicable Disease’s are heart disease, diabetes and stroke. In 2005, 60% of worldwide projected deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases. They are predicting that this health trend will continue through at least 2030.
Diet, caloric intake, lack of physical activity and tobacco use are the major risk factors in the cause of Non-Communicable Disease’s. Now more than ever, the understanding of the importance of health and wellness is crucial.
Employee Wellness Plans are Effective Tools
The report notes that Employee Wellness Plans are found to be effective in improving health-related risk factors, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The report also notes that Employee Wellness Plans will improve the health of workers, improve the business image, improve employee morale, reduce employee absences and sick leave, increase employee productivity, and reduce business medical care costs.
Employee Wellness Plans Monitoring
Finally, the report mentions that to have a successful Employee Wellness Program, monitoring and evaluation through Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) and health outcomes are essential and should be included in the Employer Health and Wellness Program implementation. The evaluations ensure that the Employer Health and Wellness Program developed meets the proper needs of the workers. Workers should be reevaluated on an on-going basis to make sure the Employer Health and Wellness Program is still working, or to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made.
