CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMS IN FEDERAL WORKSITES - FINDINGS FROM THE FEDERAL-EMPLOYEE WORKSITE PROJECT

Purpose. To describe how well-established health promotion programs at selected federal worksites were designed, organized, and implemented and to identify factors related to employee participation. Design. Thi s descriptive study related characteristics of the health promotion pr ogram, worksites, and workforce to employee participation and percepti ons of program impacts. Setting. The study was conducted at 10 establi shed federal worksite health promotion programs in various regions of the country. Subjects. A fetal of 3403 of 5757 federal employees (59%) sampled completed employee surveys. Measures. Study data were collect ed from on-site observations, interviews, focus groups, and employee s urveys. Results. Overall, program participation rates were high and em ployees reported positive impacts on their health and attitudes toward the agency. Participation in health screening, perceived program conv enience, and perceived support by management and others were important determinants of participation and of perceived work-related outcomes. Conclusions. Although site selection and response rate limit generali zability, the sites evaluated represent a broad cross-section of diffe rent types and sizes of agencies. The findings should be relevant in m any other settings. Study programs compare favorably with private sect or programs. Employees viewed the programs very positively. The most c ogent challenge in justifying these, and perhaps other, worksite progr ams is that most participants already or simultaneously engage in heal th promotion activities elsewhere ''on their own.''