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Integration of a Nutrition Blog into a Hospital’s Employee Wellness Program. Rebecca Scofield, MS Underwood-Memorial Hospital ARAMARK Dietetic Internship May 15, 2012. Introduction. Obesity-Related Costs Exceed $110 billion annually 1 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Integration of a Nutrition Blog into a Hospital’s Employee Wellness
ProgramRebecca Scofield, MS
Underwood-Memorial HospitalARAMARK Dietetic Internship
May 15, 2012
IntroductionObesity-Related Costs
Exceed $110 billion annually1
Medical expenses 30% greater than normal-weight Americans2
Wellness ProgramsReduce obesity-related costs Involve incentives, both cash and otherwise Incorporate healthy activitiesRemote multimedia interventions (e.g. internet) as
successful as traditional activities3
1. Finkelstein EA, Fiebelkorn IC, Wang G. National medical spending attributable to overweight and obesity: how much and who’s paying? Health Aff. 2003. Suppl Web Exclusives: W3:219-226.
2. Withrow D, Alter DA. The economic burden of obesity worldwide: a systematic review of the direct costs of obesity. Obes Rev. 2011;12(2): 131-41.3. Appel LJ, Clark JM, Yeh HC, Wang NY, Coughlin JW, Daumit G, Miller ER, Dalcin A, Jerome GJ, Geller S, Noronha G, Pozefsky T, Charleston J, Reynolds JB, Durkin N,
Rubin RR, Louis TA, Branca. FL. Comparative effectiveness of weight‐loss interventions in clinical practice. N Engl J Med 2011;365(21):1959-68.
Emerging TrendsEmerging Trends in Dietetics highlighted
throughout the project:Employee wellness programs/managed careObesity EpidemicUsing multimedia/social networking and
integrating technology in dietetics
BackgroundNutrition Interventions
Diet-related employee wellness interventions influence nutrition knowledge, food intake, and health
Reduce absenteeism and increase productivity4
Nutrition interventions can be integrated as part of wellness programs
Combining a social media approach (blog) with nutrition education:Easily accessible Inexpensive Independent-learning wellness program
intervention Jensen JD. Can worksite nutri.onal interven.ons improve produc.vity and firm profitability? A literature review. Perspect Public Health 2011;131 (4):184- 92.‐
Research QuestionThe purpose of this research was to determine if
an online nutrition blog at Underwood-Memorial Hospital (U-MH) would increase awareness and participation in the employee wellness program and influence healthy behaviors among participants.
U-MH Wellness ProgramWellness Passport documents various wellness
events and activities for participantsAll employees able to participate, only those
with U-MH health insurance can get cash incentives
Wellness fairs, walking club, healthy lunch purchases, health survey, annual physical, etc
2011: 36 participants completed and turned in Wellness Passports
Methods: ParticipantsAll employees have access to the blog via
the blog’s website and from the hospital’s intranet site, the Pulse
8 individuals responded to blog posts with questions
25 individuals completed survey posted on the blog and linked to the Pulse
Methods: ResourcesNo monetary cost
Free blog hosting site (Google Blogger)Free marketing on the Pulse, Rebecca
advertising at wellness fairsFree survey site (Survey Monkey)
Time and knowledge from dietetic intern, project coordinators, Clinical Nutrition Manager, VP of Human Resources, Wellness Committee
Methods:Blog Implementation
5 Biweekly posts from January to March 2012Developed and hosted on Google BloggerCooperation from and integration into existing
wellness program at U-MHParticipants awarded Wellness Passport Point for
responding to 3 blog posts via email or commentRebecca the dietetic intern responded individually to
each questionAwarded additional point for completing post-
survey developed through Survey Monkey
Methods: OutcomesPrimary Outcomes:
Awareness of wellness programParticipation in wellness programParticipants’ healthy behaviors
Measured using blog website statistics, U-MH Wellness Committee data, and survey
Results
TOTAL VIEWS
#5 Vegetarian Diet
#4 Sweeteners
#3 Essential Fatty Acids
#2 Antioxidants
#1 Fiber
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Page views
Results
ResultsCharts demonstrating increased participation and influence
on healthy choices:"This blog has increased
my overall participation in the Employee Wellness
program at U-MH."Strongly Agree (25%)Somewhat Agree (60.7%)Somewhat Disagree (14.3%)Strongly Disagree (0)
"How likely are you to use the food and nutrition information
you have learned to make healthy choices in your life?"
Extremely Likely (30.8%)Very Likely (57.7%)Slightly Likely (11.5%)Not at all Likely (0%)
Discussion of Findings Related to increased awareness:
Majority of employees who were new to the wellness program stated the blog was their first activity
75.8% said the blog introduced them to wellness program activities they were previously unaware of
Discussion of FindingsRelated to increased participation:
Half of those who responded to the blog did not participate in the 2011 wellness program, indicating the blog recruited new participants who earned Passport points
89.7% strongly or somewhat agreed that the blog increased their overall participation in the program
Discussion of FindingsRelated to incorporating healthy
behaviors:Majority of participants claimed the
blog enhanced their nutrition knowledge
88.5% are extremely or very likely to use information learned to incorporate healthy behaviors in their lives
Additional SurveyQuestions and Responses
I feel this blog has enhanced my nutrition knowledgeStrongly Agree 10 38.5%Somewhat Agree 14 53.8%Somewhat Disagree 2 7.7%Strongly Disagree 0 0%
I would like to see a nutrition blog continued in the future.Strongly Agree 15 60%Somewhat Agree 10 40%Somewhat Disagree 0 0%Strongly Disagree 0 0%
ConclusionsLimitations:
Sample sizeOnly 8 people responded to blog posts for a point
Unable to demonstrate increased participation by tallying total points for the year (time frame)Could have used additional quantitative
No pre-post test to measure nutrition knowledge before and after blog
Additional outcomes:More people viewed site than earned point, indicating
that it was wide-reaching despite participation
ConclusionsNutrition blog increased awareness, participation,
and influenced employees to make healthy choices
The blog provides reliable, easily accessible nutrition information to large audiences
With a free blog as part of a wellness program, employers can reduce healthcare expenses with no risk
Due to the blog’s success, it will continue at U-MH under direction of the Clinical Nutrition Manager
Thanks to:Underwood-Memorial Hospital’s Wellness
CommitteeRob Manestrino, Vice President of Human
ResourcesRosanne Leibhart, MS, RD, CNSC, Clinical
Nutrition ManagerKrystyna Bowen, Project CoordinatorLisa DeHaven, MS, RD, LDN, ARAMARK Dietetic
Internship Director
Questions?
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