ValueOptions®

Creating a Culture of Health:Putting Theory Into Practice

New York Business Group on Health

Ed Jones, Ph.D.April 7, 2010

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• Health care costs are reducing competitiveness and profitability for companies

– Spending nearly twice per capita as other countries with mediocre results

• The healthcare industry has long benefited from selling programs that take care of sick people

– Health and wellness is not aligned with the fundamental incentives of most of the healthcare industry

The Crisis in Corporate America

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25are

smokers

64are obese oroverweight

60are

sedentary

27have

heart disease

24have high

blood pressure

10have

diabetes

50are

distressed

25have highcholesterol

Consider This – For Every 100 People...

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A Focus on the Individual

• If 50% to 70% of illness is due to preventable behavior (i.e., lifestyle choices), then we must help people change unhealthy behaviors

• Focus on intrinsic motivation – intentional individual action

• Focus on extrinsic motivation – incentives

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A Focus on Social Context

• Social forces affect mental health and wellness, yet we are rarely aware of when and how this happens

• Transmission of cultural values and norms are powerful determinants of behavior– People with friends who smoke are more likely to smoke– People with overweight friends are heavier– People will explain what they do with rational explanations

focusing on motivation (i.e., we rationalize)

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Culture of Health

• COH: Environmental Support + Culture• Environmental Support is the sum of all social and

physical influences on behavior (Tom Golaszewski)• Culture is the sum total of social influences on attitudes

and behavior, including shared values, norms, peer support, touch points and climate within an organization (Judd Allen)

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Dee Edington’s Five Fundamental Pillars

Senior Leadership Operations Leadership Self-Care Leadership Recognizing and Rewarding Behavior Quality Assessment & Assurance

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Beyond the HRA

Organizational Measurement Medical Cost Trends Productivity

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Investment in Human Capital

Health benefits are an investment in human capital, not an expense

These investments are getting poorer results than desired because of the social determinants of health

It is difficult for people to sustain healthy behaviors if the environment and culture in which they spend much of their waking time is not supportive

Now let’s tackle the practical problem of building a culture of health…