title: Perceptions of a Culture of Health: Implications for Communications and Programming.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to illustrate the potential utility of open-ended survey data, regarding faculty and staff perceptions of a culture of health (CoH), for targeting communications and programming. Overall, these types of data show how they may be used to assist in implementing, improving, and sustaining a CoH in an organization. Design/method/approach. An anonymous online questionnaire was sent to 10,000 employees. The analysis of open-ended responses was performed using the grounded theory approach. Emerging themes were organized into two major categories: favorable perceptions and unfavorable perceptions regarding the university's CoH.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These findings suggest that employees have specific favorable and unfavorable perceptions regarding their university's CoH. Two main favorable perceptions that both faculty and staff commented on were (1) leaders/supervisors showing interest in health and well-being and (2) colleagues participating in healthful behaviors and setting good examples. Examples of unfavorable perceptions include stress not adequately addressed and healthy food options not readily available. Research limitations. The generalizability of the findings may be somewhat challenging given that the analyses are limited to individuals from a large Midwestern university. Also, given that this survey was voluntary, participants in the survey may possess unique characteristics that may have played a role in their likelihood to participate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are few studies that address assessing a CoH in a university setting. This study provides examples of (1) topics to consider when evaluating an organization's CoH and (2) actionable intervention and communication strategies that account for the employee's perceptions. Others might use such examples when evaluating or preparing to assess their own organization's CoH.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA kristirj@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Kristi Rahrig
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Nour
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fakhoury
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Mary L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Marzec
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Harlow-Rosentraub
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010465:Perception; D012944:Social Support; D014495:Universities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: environmental tobacco smoke; health promotion; tobacco prevention and control; university/college health