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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate managers' barriers and facilitators to supporting employee participation in the Washington State Wellness program.Design: Exploratory sequential mixed methods.Setting: Four Washington State agencies located in Olympia and Tumwater, Washington.Participants: State employees in management positions (executive, middle, and line), whose job includes supervision of subordinates and responsibility for the performance and conduct of a subunit or group.Methods: We interviewed 23 managers and then used the results to create a survey that was fielded to all managers at the 4 agencies. The survey response rate was 65% (n = 607/935).Analysis: We used qualitative coding techniques to analyze interview transcripts and descriptive statistics to summarize survey data. We used the Total Worker Health framework to organize our findings and conclusions.Results: Managers support the wellness program, but they also face challenges with accommodating employees' participation due to workload, scheduling inflexibility, and self-efficacy to discuss wellness with direct reports. About half the managers receive support from the manager above them, and most have not received training on the wellness program.Conclusion: Our findings point to several strategies that can strengthen managers' role in supporting the wellness program: the provision of training, targeted messages, formal expectations, and encouragement (from the manager above) to support employees' participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this integrative literature review is to synthesize the existing evidence regarding managers' support for employee wellness programs.Data Source: The search utilized multiple electronic databases and libraries.Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria: Inclusion criteria comprised peer-reviewed research published in English, between 1990 and 2016, and examining managers' support in the context of a worksite intervention. The final sample included 21 articles for analysis.Data Extraction: Two researchers extracted and described results from each of the included articles using a content analysis.Data Synthesis: Two researchers independently rated the quality of the included articles. Researchers synthesized data into a summary table by study design, sample, data collected, key findings, and quality rating.Results: Factors that may influence managers' support include their organization's management structure, senior leadership support, their expected roles, training on health topics, and their beliefs and attitudes toward wellness programs and employee health. Managers' support may influence the organizational culture, employees' perception of support, and employees' behaviors.Conclusions: When designing interventions, health promotion practitioners and researchers should consider strategies that target senior, middle, and line managers' support. Interventions need to include explicit measures of managers' support as part of the evaluation plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To understand differences in health risk assessment (HRA) and biometric screening participation rates among benefits-enrolled employees in association with wage category.Design: Cross-sectional analysis of employee eligibility file and health benefits (wellness and claims) data.Setting: Data from self-insured employers participating in the RightOpt private exchange (Conduent HR Services) during 2014.Participants: Active employees from 4 companies continuously enrolled in health insurance for which wage data were available.Measures: Measures included HRA and biometric screening participation rates and wage status, with employee age, sex, employer, job tenure, household income, geographic location, and health benefits deductible as a percentage of total wages serving as covariates.Analysis: Employees were separated into 5 groups based on wage status. Logistic regression analysis incorporated other measures as covariates to adjust for differences between groups, with HRA and biometric screening participation rates determined as binary outcomes.Results: Participation rates for HRA and biometric screening were 90% and 87%, respectively, in the highest wage category, decreasing to 67% and 60%, respectively, among the lowest wage category.Conclusion: Employee wage status is associated with significant differences in HRA and biometric participation rates. Generalizing the results generated by modest participation in these offerings to entire populations may risk misinterpretation of results based on variable participation rates across wage categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of a new intervention, Ready~Steady, in terms of demand, acceptability, implementation, and limited efficacy.Design: Randomized controlled trial; repeated measures.Setting: Two rural communities in Itasca County, Minnesota.Subjects: Thirty participants were randomized to an intervention (n = 16) or attention-control (n = 14) group.Intervention: Ready~Steady combined two components: (1) motivational (motivational support, social network support, empowering education), and (2) fall-reducing physical activities (PAs; guidance to practice leg-strengthening, balance, and flexibility activities and walking).Measures: Acceptability questionnaire and Indices of Procedural Consistency (investigator developed), Community Health Activity Model Program for Seniors Questionnaire (confirmed with accelerometry), Short Physical Performance Battery, Perceived Environmental Support Scale, Social Support for Exercise Questionnaire, Goal Attainment Scale, Index of Readiness, and Index of Self-Regulation.Analysis: Descriptive statistics and a marginal approach to repeated-measures analysis of variance, using mixed-model procedures.Results: Attrition was 7% and mean attendance was 7.2 of 8 sessions, participants evaluated Ready~Steady as acceptable, and implementation fidelity was good. The intervention group improved significantly more than the attention-control group in PA behavior, F1,27 = 11.92, p = .002; fall risk (functional balance and strength), F1,27 = 14.89, p = .001; support for exercise from friends, F1,27 = 11.44, p = .002; and self-regulation, F1,26 = 38.82, p < .005.Conclusion: The Ready~Steady intervention was feasible as evidenced by low attrition and good attendance and implementation, as well as positive effects on targeted outcomes and theoretical mechanisms of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. This study tested the effectiveness of two point-of decision signs to increase stair use and investigated message content by comparing signs with general and specific messages. Design. This study used a quasi-experimental time series design, including a 2-week baseline period: 2 weeks with a general message and 2 weeks with a specific message. Setting. The signs were placed in an eight-story university building. Subjects. The subjects comprised all adults entering the building. During the study, 2991 observations of stair/elevator choice were made. Intervention. A stair-prompt sign with a general message and a sign with a specific message served as the interventions. Measures. Observers measured stair/elevator choice, demographics, and traffic volume. Analysis. Logistic regression analyses were employed, adjusting for covariates. Results. The specific sign intervention showed significantly increased odds of stair use compared to baseline (odds ratio [OR] = 2.04, 95% confidence interval [Cl] = 1.46-2.84). The odds of stair use were also significantly greater with the specific sign than the general sign (OR= 1.57, 95% CI= 1.13-2.20). Conclusion. Only the specific sign significantly increased stair use. The results indicate that a specific message may be more effective at promoting stair use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]