Research Plus

Workplace health promotion

This systematic review examined evidence on the economic impact of workplace health promotion programmes undertaken in the US (where healthcare costs are usually borne by the employer through insurance). It found limited and inconsistent evidence of economic benefits and a need for higher quality research to provide useful evidence on return on investment. Economic outcomes included healthcare utilisation (eg, medical and pharmaceutical claims) and work productivity loss (eg, absenteeism, presenteeism and disability claims). Of the included studies, 32 papers showed one or more favourable result, and 12 reported unfavourable, mixed or null results. Methodological quality was often poor, with only 10 of the 44 included papers providing adequate quality evidence.

 

Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine 2013; 55(2): 209–222. 

Tags absence disability evidence based practice health promotion presenteeism

Occupational Health at Work April/May 2013 (vol. 09/6) pp16