Measuring success in creating a "culture of health"

To develop and test methodology to measure employees attitudes regarding worksite health promotion. These values and attitudes are described as a "culture of health" and are believed to motivate behavior changes toward improved health outcomes. This survey tool was designed to determine the value and degree of support that employees have for health improvement initiatives at a large food company.

The "Total You Health Values Survey" administered by an outside vendor (Sirota) was sent by e-mail to 4674 headquarters and research and development employees with an explanation of the survey and instructions for completion. The survey was open 14 days and there were no incentives for completion. The survey consisted of three demographic questions, one open ended comment section and 14 core questions in three categories: Supportive Environment, Healthy Lifestyle Attitudes, and Knowledge and Behavior. Employees were guaranteed confidentiality and anonymity.

There were 3339 responses, a 71% response rate. Ninety-one percent of respondents said that encouraging healthy lifestyles is a General Mills priority and 97% said they know the steps needed to stay healthy.

We were able to develop and implement a simple measurement tool to measure the success of our health promotion activities using an e-mail based questionnaire. In the employee population surveyed, we found that there was broad support for health promotion. We believe that this simple survey tool can be used by other employers to measure their organizational "culture of health."