Prevention, prevention, prevention
This is the reason why a health risk assessment is important. A health risk assessment uncovers the health risks that are directly linked to medical problems developing down the road. Many of us do not fully appreciate or accept how the decisions we make around our lifestyle and our health can affect us. We may understand it on some level, but we don’t fully embrace it. This capacity that we have to ignore prevention strategies and instead wait for a problem to develop before acting is a very common human attribute. Unfortunately, it leads to a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering. But prevention is always the best medicine and always pays the biggest dividends. We all know this, but do we all really live it?
Better Health Outcomes
It’s important for all employers to help their employees with this most difficult of endeavours: to understand the importance of identifying problems early and acting before the issues become serious. The workplace is a fantastic consistent environment to reinforce the importance of all of this. Research on workplace wellness has shown that it is the culture of the workplace that plays the biggest role in the success of any wellness program. Many people are at work for five days a week, so the workplace culture surrounds these individuals for at least 40 hours a week. Think of all the effort that is made to help employees experience a positive work environment and become engaged in their work in order to better the future success of the company. What if the future health of all employees was given the same priority? Employees would enjoy better health and companies would have better success. It’s always a win-win.
Target Modifiable Health Risks
A health risk assessment provides an opportunity for forward-thinking employers to encourage their employees to answer simple questions about their health history and their lifestyle. Everything is kept entirely confidential. After completion, it provides a summary of the responses by health risk category so that the employee understands the areas of risk as well as the areas where they are currently doing well. It then provides an action plan, with links to credible resources, to help the individual understand how to make the necessary changes to their lifestyle and why this is important.
For the employer, there is also the ability to understand their population’s health risks through a dashboard. The valuable insights gained from this information can be used to target messaging through specific health campaigns. It allows an employer to track the success of their program over time and to make the necessary adjustments.
A Health Strategy
A comprehensive health strategy begins with a health risk assessment, which quantifies for the individual and the employer what the risks are and where to focus their efforts. A well-structured program will reduce drug costs and minimize lost productivity due to presenteeism (i.e., coming to work while sick), absenteeism, and disability.
For more health insight, visit Novus Health.
