Factors Associated With Interest in Worksite Health-Related Discussions/Events Among Employed Adults With Chronic Conditions

Exploring the working conditions of disabled employees: a scoping review

PURPOSE

Disabled people are often overlooked in considerations about work design, which contributes to their exclusion from the labor market. This issue also reflects within research, as the body of knowledge on the working conditions of disabled employees remains relatively limited.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted to assess the research landscape concerning the working conditions of disabled employees. Five databases have been searched, focusing on relevant studies published between 2017 and 2022.

RESULTS

One hundred fourteen studies were included in the review. It was found that social aspects of work appeared within a substantial portion of the examined studies. Furthermore, it became evident that the interplay of accessibility and flexibility provides an important dynamic to make work design both inclusive and feasible.

CONCLUSION

The recurrent prominence of social aspects, accessibility, and flexibility across the studies shows common challenges and potentials within the work situation of disabled employees. This suggests avenues for future research and inclusive work design.

Implementing an Online Weight-Management Intervention to an Employee Population: Initial Experience with Real Appeal

OBJECTIVE

Given the disease burden and economic costs of obesity in the United States, scalable approaches to weight loss and weight management are needed. This study evaluated self-reported weight-loss outcomes associated with a commercial intensive lifestyle intervention marketed to employers and delivered electronically to employees.

METHODS

Data were collected for participants who enrolled in an online intensive lifestyle intervention weight-loss program from July 2015 through June 2016. An intent-to-treat analysis of participants who attended at least one session is reported.

RESULTS

Ninety-six companies, with approximately 437,215 eligible adult beneficiaries, launched Real Appeal in July 2015. In the first 12 months of the program, 69,598 adults enrolled and 87% met at-risk criteria for prediabetes, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. The intent-to-treat cohort (n = 52,461), all of whom attended at least one session, lost an average of 2.8% body weight, with 23% achieving 5% or more weight loss. Active participants (n = 38,836) lost an average of 3.5% body weight, with 29% achieving 5% weight loss. Program completers (n = 27,164) lost an average of 4.3% body weight, with 36% of the cohort achieving 5% weight loss.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that an employer-offered, online, behavioral weight-loss program was an effective, scalable solution for engaging more than 50,000 participants with overweight and obesity.

Impact of a Translated Disease Self-Management Program on Employee Health and Productivity: Six-Month Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Disease management is gaining importance in workplace health promotion given the aging workforce and rising chronic disease prevalence. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) is an effective intervention widely offered in diverse community settings; however, adoption remains low in workplace settings. As part of a larger NIH-funded randomized controlled trial, this study examines the effectiveness of a worksite-tailored version of CDSMP (wCDSMP [n = 72]) relative to CDSMP (‘Usual Care’ [n = 109]) to improve health and work performance among employees with one or more chronic conditions. Multiple-group latent-difference score models with sandwich estimators were fitted to identify changes from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Overall, participants were primarily female (87%), non-Hispanic white (62%), and obese (73%). On average, participants were age 48 (range: 23–72) and self-reported 3.25 chronic conditions (range: 1–16). The most commonly reported conditions were high cholesterol (45%), high blood pressure (45%), anxiety/emotional/mental health condition (26%), and diabetes (25%). Among wCDSMP participants, significant improvements were observed for physically unhealthy days (uΔ = −2.07, p = 0.018), fatigue (uΔ = −2.88, p = 0.002), sedentary behavior (uΔ = −4.49, p = 0.018), soda/sugar beverage consumption (uΔ = −0.78, p = 0.028), and fast food intake (uΔ = −0.76, p = 0.009) from baseline to follow-up. Significant improvements in patient–provider communication (uΔ = 0.46, p = 0.031) and mental work limitations (uΔ = −8.89, p = 0.010) were also observed from baseline to follow-up. Relative to Usual Care, wCDSMP participants reported significantly larger improvements in fatigue, physical activity, soda/sugar beverage consumption, and mental work limitations (p < 0.05). The translation of Usual Care (content and format) has potential to improve health among employees with chronic conditions and increase uptake in workplace settings.