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Published on: March 7, 2019
Short-term economic evaluation of physical activity-based corporate health programs: a systematic review
Lorenzo Bonatesta1, Stefano Palermi1,2, Felice Sirico1,2
1Med-Ex, Medicine & Exercise, Medical Partner Scuderia Ferrari, 00187 Rome, Italy.
Objectives:
Corporate health programs (CHPs) aim to improve employees' health through health promotion strategies at the workplace. Physical activity (PA) plays a crucial role in primary prevention, leading many companies to implement PA-based CHPs. However, there is limited examination in the scientific literature on whether PA-based CHPs (PA-CHPs) lead to economic benefits. This systematic review aimed to summarize the available literature on the economic aspects of PA-CHPs.
Methods:
A systematic review was conducted to identify studies focused on PA-CHPs targeting healthy sedentary workers and reporting at least one economic outcome, such as return on investment (ROI), costs, or sick leave.
Results:
Of 1036 studies identified by our search strategy, 11 studies involving 60 020 participants met the inclusion criteria. The mean (±SD) cost per capita for PA-CHPs was estimated as 359€ (±238€) (95% CI, 357-361€). In 75% of the studies, the net savings generated by PA-CHPs in 12 months were reported, with an average of 1095€ (±865€) (95% CI, 496-1690€). ROI was assessed in 50% of the included studies, with an average of 3.6 (±1.41) (95% CI, 2.19-5.01).
Conclusions:
In addition to promoting a healthy lifestyle, PA-CHPs have the potential to generate significant economic returns. However, the heterogeneity among the existing studies highlights the need for standardization and accurate reporting of costs in future research.
