Health Promotion Plan
More and more Americans are struggling to stay healthy. Increasingly, people are finding it harder to fit exercise into their lives, to develop healthy eating habits, to maintain their weight, and to manage stress. It is not that people are not trying, but the American way of life, for so many people, has become a roadblock to the pursuit of health.
It is very clear that to improve health; we have to shift our focus more on helping people improve their lifestyle behavior. “Introducing wellness or a “health promotion” program into the mix is critical” (Hall, 2006). The human resources department of this company wants to introduce a 16-week workplace health promotion program that will boost morale, improve health and fitness, and increase productivity in the workplace. All part-time and full-time employees are eligible to participate.The goals of this program are as follows: • Learn how to appreciate and take advantage of the interconnections among the body, brain, and lifestyle • Learn how the brain works so you can make positive, healthful changes • Engage in a regular exercise program and create your own personal fitness plan • Participate in a nutrition course and create a personal nutrition plan so you can maintain a healthy diet • Develop good stress management skillsMany people are not aware of their potential health risks and do not understand how their lifestyle choices affect their health, so in an effort to help all participants better understand their current health status, nurses and health care staff members from our health insurance company, United Healthcare will be on-site on Monday, December 6th in the video conference room to register all participants and guide you through a personal health assessment.Upon completion of the health assessment, all participants will receive personalized results and one-on-one attention from a health care coach.
This coach will work with you in a group setting over the next 16 weeks and teach you the key components of the body, the brain, nutrition, diet and exercise, and stress management. You will receive information through brochures, booklets, and keynote speakers. In addition, you will meet with your health coach individually once a week to discuss your program progress, review your goals, and address any potential barriers.Based on your assessment results, you will be divided into a small support group that will include participants who have similar health needs. Your health care coach will manage your support group; however, you will find that the individuals within your support group are imperative resources to help you achieve your goals because they can relate to your specific needs.
It will be extremely important to the success of this program that you actively participate in sharing and receiving information within your groups. Eating nutrition foods is essential for optimal health.To ensure consistency between the available food choices and the nutrition information all participants will learn in their nutrition courses, Nature’s Table is sponsoring a free lunch once a week for employees participating in the corporate health plan. Exercise is a key component of a healthy lifestyle. You cannot enjoy optimal health and healing if you are sedentary (Traver, M.
D. ; Sargent, 2009). The implementation of an exercise program and the development of shopping, cooking, and meal planning habits will allow for one to reach their health goals and maintain them.If a person only diets without incorporating some type of physical exercise into their health program, “the human body will eventually adjust its metabolism to the reduced calorie intake. ” If the person returns to his or her regular diet without exercise, they will begin to gain the weight back. According to medical professionals, “30 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise performed three times a week will elevate one’s metabolism, and a higher metabolism burns more calories” (2009, American Dietetic Association).
In an effort to increase productivity, we have partnered with the 24-hour fitness center located in the building.All participants will receive a free membership and have 24-hour access to the facility. In addition, employees may use the facility during work hours, such as on your lunch break. Stress management is another important skill you need for staying healthy in the fast-paced world we live in today. To make positive changes in your health, your health care coach will teach you how to handle and manage the various stressors within your life. Our modern world comes with its own unique set of stressors.
Technology has improved our lives in many ways, but it has also reated a brand-new set of stresses such as those associated with multitasking, information overload, and heightened expectations about what we can reasonably accomplish. Chronic stimulation of stress affects your health in a sticking number of ways so developing a way to handle the stress response is critical for maintaining a healthy life. To keep all participants motivated to continue in the program, we will periodically invite participant’s family members onsite to participate in many of the educational seminars and one-one-one sessions with the health coach.A variety of incentives will also be offered throughout the course. One of the incentives will include a weekly challenge. During your meeting with your coach each week, you will be tasked with completing a challenge such as walking a mile this week or smoking two less cigarettes.
Each participant that successfully completes the challenge will be offered an incentive such as a paid day off work, a gift card, or a reserved parking pass. In addition, each participant will be entered into a raffle to receive special recognition in the employee newsletter.This will give other coworkers the opportunity to share in your success. Everyone wants to live a happy, healthy life. But wanting to live healthfully is one thing; doing it is quite another. Change can be a tricky process, so the more you know about it, the better.
“People have definite advantage when they understand how interconnected everything in their body is when it comes to health and how their brain works when it comes to change” (Steiner-Adair ; Sjostrom, 2006, p. 12). If you want to be as healthy as you can, you need to understand how everything affects your health.It is not just about the food you eat or the exercise you do, although these two behaviors are extremely important. It is also about how you sleep, how you think, how you handle stress, and how you feel about the life you are living.
You have the opportunity to improve your health and build upon the foundation for healthy living. This 16-week step-by-step program will work with the whole picture of health. You will fine-tune everything you learn to fit your specific needs and solidify a new, healthier lifestyle that will serve you for the rest of your life.References (2009). American Dietetic Association. The American Dietetic Association Foundation.
Retrieved November 21, 2010, from www. eatright. gov Hall, B. (2006). Good Health Pays Off! Fundamentals of Health Promotion Incentives. Journal of Deferred Compensation, 11(2), 16-26.
Retrieved from Business Source Complete database. Steiner-Adair, C. , ; Sjostrom, L. (2006). Full Of Ourselves. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Traver, M. D. , K. , ; Sargent, B. K.
(2009). The Program: The brain-smart approach to the healthiest you. . New York, NY: Atria Books.
