The Task Force on Community Preventive Services has selected worksite health promotion as a topic for systematic review, to highlight the importance of the worksite in promoting health. The use of selected worksite policies and programs can reduce health risks and improve the quality of life of the 141 million full- and part-time workers in the United States. The systematic reviews on various aspects of worksite health promotion are intended to give employers and organizations an evidence base to determine which available approaches are effective in promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing disease, and increasing the number of people who receive appropriate preventive counseling and screening. These reviews will provide recommendations on worksite-specific policies and activities that can help employers choose those health promotion program components proven effective in changing the behavior and improving the health of employees.

The many topics to be addressed in the worksite health promotion reviews focus on interventions that can be offered at the worksite (e.g., on-site health education classes or posting signs to encourage stair use), made available to employees at work or at other locations (e.g., reducing out-of-pocket costs for gym memberships or flu shots), or incorporated into employees’ benefits plans (e.g., vouchers for nicotine patches or to participate in exercise classes). The following topics and their related interventions were selected as priorities for the first set of reviews of worksite health promotion:

• Tobacco
  • Incentives and competitions to increase smoking cessation
  • Smoke-free policies to reduce tobacco use among workers
• Nutrition
  • Enhancing access to healthy foods
• Physical activity
  • Point-of-decision prompts to increase stair use
  • Enhancing access to places for physical activity (e.g., providing venues, classes, or information)
• Assessment of health risk
  • With feedback to the employee to change health behaviors
  • With feedback and health education for the employee, along with other health interventions to help workers develop or enhance behaviors that support good health (e.g., reducing out-of-pocket costs through reduced gym membership fees or holding incentives and competitions to increase smoking cessation).

Several of the reviews are nearly completed: incentives and competitions to increase smoking cessation; smoke-free policies to reduce tobacco use; point-of-decision prompts to increase stair use; and assessment of health risk with feedback. When completed, the results of these reviews will be made available on this website. Work on other reviews is currently on hold.