Health promotion and allied health professionals: considerations for program design

There is growing public and corporate interest in health promotion programs. Available literature suggests that health promotion may contribute to greater longevity and life satisfaction while resulting in lower health care costs. Allied health professionals are perfectly positioned to make the difference between a successful or unsuccessful health promotion effort, whether in their own lives or in the lives of patients. However, allied health professionals need to commit themselves to making behavior changes to improve their own health so that they can effectively assist patients in making similar changes. These ideas are demonstrated through a study of an employee health promotion program for allied health professionals in a health maintenance organization.