An organization-based intervention to improve support for employee heart health

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a management training seminar, developed through a partnership among a college, a managed care company, and a state public health department, to increase the level of organizational support for employee heart health in selected companies.

Quasiexperimental.

Worksites, including heavy and light industries, school districts, insurance companies, county health agencies, and health care centers.

Twenty western New York companies matched on size, industry type, and interest in worksite health promotion.

Seven training seminars held at a college for 1 year and directed primarily at human resource managers. Training was supplemented by the availability of student interns, faculty consulting, a vendors' fair, and various program planning aids.

Groups were assessed using HeartCheck, a measure of organizational support for employee heart health.

A fourfold difference in change for HeartCheck was observed by the experimental vs. comparison groups (p < .01), along with significantly greater increases on five of the instrument's six subscales (p < .05). The level of HeartCheck reached in the experimental group matched those seen in highly acclaimed commercially sponsored programs.

This study represents one of the first attempts to intervene at the organizational level within a worksite health promotion initiative. Positive results were observed that appear to be both meaningful and cost-effective.