Using their own set of wellness programs – the Healthier Worksite Initiative (HWI) – as a example, the CDC is sharing information on the impact of workforce health promotion (WHP) to benefit or initiate similar programs in federal or non-governmental workplace settings across the nation.

A mission of the HWI is to make the CDC a place "where healthy choices are easy," according to their policy statement.

The WHP initiative focused on the four pillars of the President’s Healthier U.S .Executive Order –physical activity, nutritious eating, preventive health screenings, and making healthy choices.

The CDC said it believes employer policies are important to the planning and implementation of WHP programs because they both require compliance and "advocate for modification of existing policies, or enactment of new policies, that strengthen and support employee health promotion goals."

"A workplace that supports health is likely to have policies that enable healthy behavior choices of employees by promoting employee health behavior, offering behavioral incentives to employees, and increasing employees’ access to health resources," said the authors of "An Ecological Perspective on Health Promotion Programs" in Health Education Quarterly.

Policies can be either voluntary or legally binding, formal or informal, according to the CDC. These can include written laws such as a specific smoking ban, or an understood rule such as ‘casual Fridays’ in which employees collectively assume they may wear jeans at work.

"Policies can have substantial impact on WHPs because they set boundaries around which wellness practices can be implemented," said the CDC.

By showcasing their own WHP initiatives, the CDC believes it will encourage others to implement their own promotions or generate new ideas, by using programs already in place as a guideline.

"Organizations are important components of social and physical environments, and they exert considerable influence over the choices people make, the resources they have to aid them in those choices, and the factors in the workplace that could influence healthy lifestyle status," according to the Institute of Medicine, U.S.

Address: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30333; (800) 232-4636, www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/hwi/index.htm.

This article is reprinted from Health Resources Publishing's "Wellness Program Management Advisor." © 2010, Health Resources Publishing. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.