The Impact of Employee Wellness Programs

NCT03167658 | Completed

• 5 other identifiers: Wellness 14-3141R01AG050329P30AG01281072611AEARCTR-0000586
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 48,664
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

There is great public and private interest in the use of workplace wellness programs to reduce health care spending, improve health outcomes, and enhance productivity for employees. However, there is little rigorous evidence on the effects of wellness programs. This study partners with a large multi-state U.S. employer (BJ's Wholesale Club) and an experienced wellness vendor (Wellness Workdays) to evaluate a multi-prong workplace wellness program, including components such as nutrition counseling, fitness challenges, and stress management workshops. The wellness program will be delivered by a team of experts including Registered Dieticians, and will include financial rewards for participation. The program will be available to employees in initially 20 of BJ's 200 worksites, and later expanded to 25 worksites. These worksites have been randomly selected, allowing a randomized controlled trial evaluation of the effects of the wellness program. Data will be collected on a wide array of outcomes from multiple sources, including on-site biometric screenings and surveys, employment records, and health insurance claims for employees at both treatment and control worksites.

Conditions

Health Behavior; Disease, Chronic

Keywords

Wellness; Prevention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Physical activity

  Regular exercise, number of hours sitting per day, and actively managing weight, as indicated in responses to survey questions

  Primary data collected at 18 months and 30 months after initiation of intervention

• Obesity

  Body Mass Index\>=30, calculated from measured height and weight

  Primary data collected at 18 months and 30 months after initiation of intervention

• Absenteeism

  Number of sick or personal days as a share of total days employed, from employment records

  Administrative records from 3 years spanning intervention

• Health care spending

  Dollars spent on health care for employees covered by employer-sponsored insurance, from claims records

  Administrative records from 3 years spanning intervention

Other Outcomes (13)

• Blood pressure

  Primary data collected at 18 months and 30 months after initiation of intervention

• Depression

  Primary data collected at 18 months and 30 months after initiation of intervention

• Tenure

  Administrative records from 3 years spanning intervention

Study Arms (3)

Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Employees at treatment worksites will be given access to workplace wellness programming. Participation by employees will be voluntary, but all employees at treatment sites will be considered as part of the treatment group. Employees will also be invited to complete on-site biometric assessments and questionnaires. Data from secondary data sources (including employment records and health insurance claims) will be collected for employees at all BJ's worksites.

Behavioral: Workplace wellness program

Primary Control

NO INTERVENTION

Employees at primary control worksites will be invited to complete on-site biometric assessments and questionnaires, but will not have access to the workplace wellness programming. Data from secondary data sources (including employment records and health insurance claims) will be collected for employees at all BJ's worksites.

Secondary Control

NO INTERVENTION

Employees at secondary control worksites will not participate in in-person screenings or questionnaires, and will not have access to workplace wellness programming. Data from secondary data sources (including employment records and health insurance claims) will be collected for employees at all BJ's worksites.

Interventions

Workplace wellness program BEHAVIORAL

Multi-prong workplace wellness program, with components such as nutrition counseling, fitness challenges, and stress management workshops, including supports and incentives.

Treatment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Employed in one of BJ's clubs during the period of the intervention

You may not qualify if:

• Not employed in one of BJ's clubs during the period of the intervention

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH): lead
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: collaborator
• National Institute on Aging (NIA): collaborator
• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab: collaborator
• University of Chicago: collaborator

Related Publications (1)

• Song Z, Baicker K. Effect of a Workplace Wellness Program on Employee Health and Economic Outcomes: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2019 Apr 16;321(15):1491-1501. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.3307.

  PMID: 30990549 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Health Behavior; Chronic Disease

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Zirui Song, MD, PhD

  Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine

Model Details: Each worksite (and all employees at that site) randomly assigned to Treatment or Control arm.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 23, 2017
• First Posted: May 30, 2017
• Study Start: January 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2018
• Study Completion: June 1, 2021
• Last Updated: September 9, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share