Post on 30-Dec-2015
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Public Health and Employers: The Hertfordshire Workplace Offer
Tom May
Health Improvement Officer (Lifestyles)
22nd April 2014
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The Problem
• Increasing non-infectious disease
– Smoking, obesity
• Increasing mental ill health
• Increasing sickness absence and sick pay
• Increasing loss to business productivity and performance
• Ageing workforce
• Avoidable cost of managing and replacing sick and absent staff
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What does the evidence say?
Established relationship between lifestyle related risk factors (smoking, inactivity, obesity) and productivity absenteeism and health claims.
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What does this mean for you?• High prevalence of major modifiable health risks contributes to the
epidemic of chronic disease.– Overweight &Obesity – Inactivity - Smoking– Stress - Elevated blood pressure– Elevated cholesterol - High blood sugar– Alcohol
• Places an increasing burden on employers: decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, increased health and worker’s compensation claims.
• Unless we do something is that 2/3 of people will be in chronic ill health or disability before age 68, the new retirement age
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Why should businesses care?
• You’re paying for it
• The do-nothing strategy of waiting for sickness and then paying for treatment isn’t cost neutral – it costs you
• Lifestyle related risk factors and behaviours of employees as well as unhealthy work environments and practices drive costs up.
• High risk employees incur high costs whatever the outcome measure: pharmaceutical, absenteeism, compensation costs or productivity.
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Contributors to overall health outcomes
Smoking 10%
Diet/Exercise 10%
Alcohol use 5%Poor sexual health
5%
Health Behaviours 30%
Education 10%
Employment 10%
Income 10%
Family/Social Support 5%Community Safety 5%
Socioeconomic Factors 40%
Access to care 10%
Quality of care 10%
Clinical Care 20%
Environmental Quality 5%
Built Environment 5%
Built Environment 10%
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Productivity Decreases with Number of Health Risks
Excess
Productivity Loss
Productivity
Loss (%)
Base Cost
Number of Health Risks
(Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2005;47:769-77 (n = 28,375))
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Workplace Offer Contents
• Workplace Health Champions
• Mental Wellbeing and Stress
• NHS Health checks and Mini MOTs
• Physical Activity
• Weight Management
• Stop Smoking Support
• Alcohol and Drugs
• Travel Green , Travel Healthy
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For Each Topic
• Outline of the issue
• What is our offer
• Actions for you
• Sources for more information on the topic
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Next Steps
• Use offer as a ‘Toolbox’ approach
• Initial ‘first session’ funding available for:
- Mini Health MOT’s
- Workplace Health Champions
- Mental Health Lite training course
• Devise an action plan
• Organisation buy in and workforce communication
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Contact Details: Tom May
E: tom.may@hertfordshire.gov.uk
T: 07771 840275