WORKSITE HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMS IN THE US - FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH AVAILABILITY AND PARTICIPATION

Purpose. To examine how the availability of and participation in works ite health pre motion programs varies as a function of individual (e.g ., age), organizational (e.g., occupation), and health (e.g., high blo od pressure) characteristics. Availability of worksite programs was al so compared to that reported in two previous national surveys of priva te companies. Design. Data analyzed were from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a national cross-sectional probability sampl e of the U.S. civilian population. Subjects. Five thousand two hundred nineteen NHIS respondents met the inclusion criteria of (1) being cur rently employed in a company of at least 50 employees, and (2) complet ing the NHIS section on worksite health promotion. Measures. Employees indicated the availability of and their participation in, 33 differen t types Of worksite programs. National Health Interview Survey data we re also available regarding general health, blood pressure, body mess index, and medical conditions. Results. Smoking cessation programs had the highest mean availability (43 %), followed by health education pr ograms (31 %) and screening tests (31 %). Overall, availability of wor ksite programs appeared comparable to that reported in a recent nation al survey. Participation ranged from 32 % for health education program s to 5 % for smoking cessation programs. Compared to availability, par ticipation depended less on individual and organizational characterist ics. Healthy employees were not consistently more likely to participat e in worksite health promotion programs than nonhealthy employees. Con clusions. Although availability of worksite health promotion programs remains high, participation by employees in specific types of programs can vary widely. Attempts to increase participation should look beyon d individual, health and organizational variables, to specific feature s of the work environment that encourage involvement in health promoti on activities.