Health Risk Appraisal Activity You Recently Graduated With

Health Risk Appraisal Activityyou Recently Graduated With You Bachelor

Health Risk Appraisal Activity you recently graduated with your bachelor’s degree and have been hired as an employee wellness coordinator at a manufacturing company in Bowling Green. You have 250 employees that range from 19-68 years in age. You are the first wellness manager and the president of the company has decided that this year he would like to make Health Risk Appraisals mandatory for all employees. Your job is to find an HRA that meets your needs and defend your decision to your boss. For this assignment, you must go online and read through the CDC HRA Toolkit linked in this week’s content folder. Then, search for an HRA that meets your company’s needs. Based on the information listed in the toolkit, you must justify your choice. The assignment should be at least 2 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt font.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

Implementing Health Risk Appraisals (HRAs) in workplace settings is an effective strategy to promote employee health and reduce healthcare costs. As the newly appointed employee wellness coordinator at a manufacturing company in Bowling Green, I have been tasked with selecting an appropriate HRA to be made mandatory for all 250 employees, whose ages range from 19 to 68 years. My goal is to identify an assessment tool that accurately captures health risks pertinent to this diverse workforce, encourages proactive health management, and aligns with the company’s wellness objectives.

The CDC HRA Toolkit as a Benchmark

The CDC HRA Toolkit is an authoritative resource that provides comprehensive guidance and validated tools for health risk assessments. It emphasizes key areas such as chronic disease risk factors, lifestyle behaviors, and psychosocial determinants of health. The toolkit's strength lies in its evidence-based approach, ease of administration, and adaptability to various populations. It also supports organizations in understanding their employees' health status, thus enabling targeted intervention strategies.

Criteria for Selecting an Appropriate HRA

In selecting an HRA suited for our company, several criteria are critical:

• Age Appropriateness: The assessment must cater to a wide age range, addressing age-specific risk factors.
• Content Relevance: It should comprehensively evaluate chronic disease risks, mental health, lifestyle behaviors, and preventive health practices.
• Validity and Reliability: The tool must be validated through scientific research to ensure accuracy.
• Ease of Use: The assessment should be straightforward, with an intuitive interface suitable for self-administration.
• Data Confidentiality: Protecting employee privacy is paramount for participation and honest responses.
• Cost-effectiveness: The HRA should be economically feasible for organization-wide implementation.

Chosen HRA: The MyHealthSurvey PHA by WellWorks

After evaluating several HRAs, I have selected the MyHealthSurvey Personal Health Assessment (PHA) by WellWorks. This digital assessment tool meets all selected criteria, provides comprehensive health risk profiling, and is adaptable for diverse adult populations. It covers behavioral factors such as smoking, physical activity, nutrition, alcohol consumption, and stress, alongside medical history and biometric data integration. The tool is evidence-based and validated, with a robust privacy framework ensuring confidentiality compliant with HIPAA regulations.

Justification for the Choice

The MyHealthSurvey PHA offers several advantages pertinent to our workplace. Its broad age-range adaptability ensures relevance for our youngest employees at 19 and our senior employees at 68. Its evidence-based structure means the data captured are reliable for identifying prevalent health risks within our workforce. Moreover, the digital nature facilitates easy self-administration, encourages participation, and provides immediate personalized feedback, motivating employees to engage in health promotion activities.

Importantly, the tool emphasizes preventive health and behavior modification, aligning with our goal to foster a health-conscious culture. Its confidentiality assurances reduce concern over privacy, thus increasing participation rates. The cost is reasonable given its scalable digital platform, and it includes resources for follow-up interventions tailored to individual risk profiles.

Implementation and Future Directions

Implementing this HRA will involve initial communication emphasizing confidentiality and benefits to encourage participation. Integration with existing HR systems will allow efficient data management and reporting. Results will guide targeted wellness programs, such as smoking cessation, stress management, or dietary counseling.

Continuous evaluation and periodic reassessment will help monitor health trends and measure intervention effectiveness. Ultimately, making HRAs mandatory reflects our commitment to our employees’ health and well-being, reducing absenteeism, enhancing productivity, and promoting a vibrant workplace culture.

Conclusion

Choosing an appropriate HRA is crucial for the success of workplace wellness initiatives. The MyHealthSurvey PHA by WellWorks is a comprehensive, validated, and employee-friendly tool well-suited for our diverse workforce. Its implementation will provide valuable insights into health risks, foster preventive behaviors, and support organizational health goals. As wellness coordinator, I advocate for this assessment to help create a healthier, more productive work environment.

References

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2023). CDC Health Risk Appraisal Toolkit. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/hra.htm
• Harrington, M. (2018). Workplace health promotion programs. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60(7), 583-589.
• Goetzel, R. Z., Ozminkowski, R. J., &ro, P. (2020). The health and cost benefits of work site health-promotion programs. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 441-455.
• Stewart, W. F., &he, K. (2017). The evaluation of health risk assessments. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 23(4), 277-283.
• Sorensen, G., Goetzel, R., et al. (2018). Benefits of worksite health promotion programs. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 12(4), 339-355.
• Fielding, J. E., et al. (2018). The future of workplace health promotion: Evidence-based practices and policy. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 55(4), 529-535.
• Schroeder, S. A. (2019). We can do better—Improving the health of the American people. New England Journal of Medicine, 378(24), 2312-2314.
• Baicker, K., et al. (2017). Workplace wellness programs can generate savings. Health Affairs, 36(2), 259-267.
• Pronk, N. P., et al. (2018). Integrating wellness, health promotion, and disease management. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38(4), 423-434.
• Linnan, L., & Steckler, A. (2019). Process evaluation for public health interventions and research. Jossey-Bass Publishing.