Reduction in health risks and disparities with participation in an employer-sponsored health promotion program.
There is an increasing awareness among employers and health care providers that health care needs to be tailored to address the diversity of the workforce. Population-based data have shown significant differences in health behaviors and health risks among different racial/ethnic groups in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine health risks and changes in health risks over time in an employed population at a financial services corporation. This large financial services corporation is naturally concerned about any disparities in health among employees. The study population consists of employees who participated in the organization's medical plan and also the annual health risk appraisal questionnaire in both 2009 and 2010. Significant demographic differences exist among the four ethnic groups studied: whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. At baseline, African American employees had a significantly higher average number of health risks measured by the health risk appraisal, but they also experienced the greatest improvement in health risks by time 2. There were differences in the health risk profiles of the ethnic groups, with certain risk factors being more prevalent among some ethnicities than among others. The health care costs were not significantly different among the groups studied here. It is likely that other large employers may also find health risk differences among employees belonging to various ethnicities. Future research in this field should seek to understand the reasons behind differences in health among ethnic groups and how best to address them so that all employees can achieve a high level of health and wellness.
American Express Company, New York, NY 10285-3805, USA. wayne.n.burton@aexp.com.
Wayne N
WN
Burton
Chin-Yu
CY
Chen
Xingquan
X
Li
Alyssa B
AB
Schultz
Dee W
DW
Edington
D000328:Adult; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*