Employee advisory boards as a vehicle for organizing worksite health promotion programs.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to describe the "employee advisory board model" applied in the Treatwell program, a worksite nutrition intervention program.


METHODS
The employee advisory boards of five of the seven intervention worksites participating in the Treatwell program were surveyed.  Results were compared with results of employee surveys conducted in these five worksites.


METHODS
The five worksites included in this study are among 16 participating worksites from Massachusetts and Rhode Island.


METHODS
Of the 95 board members represented in the five worksites, 88% responded to the survey.  This article also presents results from the 698 respondents of the five intervention worksites where the board surveys were conducted.


METHODS
The boards in each worksite participated in planning, promoting, and implementing this program in each worksite.


METHODS
Respondents to the board survey were asked about their participation on and satisfaction with the board and factors they thought contributed to its effectiveness. A survey of all employees included information on demographics and program participation.


RESULTS
Board members reported that they were highly satisfied with the board's functioning. Board member hours spent on Treatwell activities were directly related to the proportion of employees aware of the program. (r = .82).  The boards' effectiveness was limited by conflicting priorities between the job and board responsibilities.


CONCLUSIONS
The employee advisory board model provides promise for increasing worker awareness of worksite health promotion programs through enhanced worker ownership.
Sorensen
G
G
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
Hsieh
J
J
Hunt
M K
MK
Morris
D H
DH
Harris
D R
DR
Fitzgerald
G
G
D000328:Adult; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires