Characterizing Employees' Preferences for Incentives for Healthy Behaviors: Examples to Improve Interest in Wellness Programs.

Background. Many employers now incentivize employees to engage in wellness programs, yet few studies have examined differences in preferences for incentivizing participation in healthy behaviors and wellness programs. Method. We surveyed 2,436 employees of a large university about their preferences for incentivizing participation in different types of healthy behaviors and then used multivariable logistic regression to estimate associations between employees' socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and their preferences for incentives for engaging in healthy behaviors. Results. Compared with nonunion members, union members had higher odds of wanting an incentive for eating healthily (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.60, 95% [CI; 1.21, 2.12]), managing weight (AOR = 1.53, 95% CI [1.14, 2.06]), avoiding drinking too much alcohol (AOR = 1.41, 95% CI [1.11, 1.78]), quitting tobacco (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI [1.06, 1.77]), managing stress (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI [1.08, 1.75]), and managing back pain (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI [1.28, 2.10]). Compared with staff, faculty employees reported higher odds for wanting an incentive for reducing alcohol intake (AOR = 1.34, 95% CI [1.00, 1.78]) and quitting tobacco (AOR = 1.43, 95% CI [1.04, 1.96]). Women had lower odds than men (AOR = 0.80, 95% CI [0.64, 0.99]) of wanting an incentive for managing back pain. Conclusions. Preferences for incentives to engage in different types of healthy behaviors differed by employees' socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Organizations may consider using survey data on employee preferences for incentives to more effectively engage higher risk populations in wellness programs.

Perceptions of a Culture of Health: Implications for Communications and Programming.

PURPOSE: This study aims to illustrate the potential utility of open-ended survey data, regarding faculty and staff perceptions of a culture of health (CoH), for targeting communications and programming. Overall, these types of data show how they may be used to assist in implementing, improving, and sustaining a CoH in an organization. Design/method/approach. An anonymous online questionnaire was sent to 10,000 employees. The analysis of open-ended responses was performed using the grounded theory approach. Emerging themes were organized into two major categories: favorable perceptions and unfavorable perceptions regarding the university's CoH. FINDINGS: These findings suggest that employees have specific favorable and unfavorable perceptions regarding their university's CoH. Two main favorable perceptions that both faculty and staff commented on were (1) leaders/supervisors showing interest in health and well-being and (2) colleagues participating in healthful behaviors and setting good examples. Examples of unfavorable perceptions include stress not adequately addressed and healthy food options not readily available. Research limitations. The generalizability of the findings may be somewhat challenging given that the analyses are limited to individuals from a large Midwestern university. Also, given that this survey was voluntary, participants in the survey may possess unique characteristics that may have played a role in their likelihood to participate. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: There are few studies that address assessing a CoH in a university setting. This study provides examples of (1) topics to consider when evaluating an organization's CoH and (2) actionable intervention and communication strategies that account for the employee's perceptions. Others might use such examples when evaluating or preparing to assess their own organization's CoH.