Impact of Health Promotion Programs on MCO Family Health

Emory University, Atlanta GA

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Developing and implementing comprehensive work site health promotion programs is anticipated to help employees live healthier lifestyles by creating supportive work environments and offering awareness, education and behavioral change programs. While evidence suggests that health promotion programs are economically viable and there is support for alternative strategies, there are limited empirical studies that have simultaneously analyzed different health promotion strategies and partitioned the influence of each specific strategy in the overall effect. In our investigation, we propose to evaluate three basic questions-Given the three major strategies for promoting healthy behavior in the workplace: worksite health promotion programs, MCO health education programs, and health promotion through primary care practices - (1) what is the overall contribution of these three approaches for individuals and families on selected work site health promotion activities, (2) what is the unique impact of each approach on the health promotion activity and what is the extent of the differences, and (3) what effect do factors like patient characteristics, primary practice culture, structure of the health education and health promotion program have on the individual and family health promotion behavior? We have selected a broad range of nine meaningful and widely applicable health promotion measures and we have assembled a strong team of investigators with a solid research record and database to build a comprehensive work site model for analyzing these questions. Specific Aim 1: Create a three-year longitudinal dataset that contains comprehensive health promotion intervention profiles and patient characteristics for approximately 115,000 MCO members. Specific Aim 2: Evaluate the hypothesis that primary care practices with more effective teamwork (collaboration, task delegation) make a significant contribution to better MCO member outcomes (rates of preventive health services, absentee days) when they work with work site wellness programs and health education programs and the data are controlled for patient characteristics (race, family type, income, comorbidities) and organizational characteristics (PCP training and experience, length of time employer has had a workplace health promotion program). Specific Aim 3: Develop recommendations to better integrate primary practice teams with traditional work site wellness programs and health education programs that provide health promotion services to employees and their families