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Although more and more employers are turning to workplace wellness programs to improve worker health and save on health care costs, a new study shows that they do not work. do not improve health indicators.
The researchers found that workplace wellness participants are more physically active, actively manage their weight, and have other healthier behaviors than their peers outside of the programs. However, they have no body mass index, lower blood pressure or cholesterol, according to an analysis published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This is the first large-scale randomized clinical trial of the causal effects of employee health programs.
The study also revealed that the programs had not resulted in any significant reduction in health expenditures or the use of health services.
"These findings suggest that employers who plan to invest in workplace wellness programs or those who manage public funds who might be interested in workplace wellness programs should perhaps to be moderate their expectations with regard to such programs in order to generate a significant return on investment in the short term, "said co-author of the study, Dr. Zirui Song, assistant professor in politics of the Health and Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
More than 4,000 employees of big-box retailers BJ's Wholesale Clubs have participated in the wellness program of the study for 18 months. But there was little difference in productivity between the groups of control and welfare programs.
Song said that it was possible that the study was too short to see a positive clinical difference or that the impact of the program was short-lived.
Other studies have revealed mixed results of workplace wellness programs. An essay published last year by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has revealed no significant differences in health or healthcare costs over a year. The researchers suggested that participants were probably already in good health and had low health care costs.
Another study by Health and Katherine Baicker, Dean of the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, found that medical costs were reduced by $ 3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs . The costs associated with absenteeism decreased by $ 2.73 for every dollar spent.
Employers continue to adhere to workplace wellness programs, thanks in part to the incentives offered by the Affordable Care Act. The law has increased the maximum amount that employers can allocate to employees if they participate in the initiatives.
According to a survey of the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2018, 82% of large companies and 53% of small employers in the country offered a wellness program.
"It makes sense that if my population adopts healthy behaviors, it will achieve healthier results and be more productive," said Mark Brittingham, CEO and co-founder of BSDI, a New Jersey-based provider of wellness technologies.
Brittingham said the JAMA study results did not make sense since participants reported that they were doing more exercise, but that their health did not occur. improved. He suspected that their activities might have been too much reported.
"No business should have the feeling of simply being able to drop a sum of money into a program like this and magically get a reward in terms of short-term medical savings," said Brittingham. . "Any supplier who says in 18 months that we are going to show you a huge return on your investment just does not tell you the truth."
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