Health values最新文献

Traditional university students are members of a cohort which is formulating its lifestyle patterns. College students often make unsupervised health-related decisions and (perhaps for the first time) bear the responsibility for those decisions. One of those decisions involves selection and use of health resources. The university, perceived as a community-within-a-community, provides numerous alternatives for the student. The purpose of this article is two-fold: to present a two-part study which investigated the knowledge and use patterns of health resources by students at a state-supported, residential, midwestern university; and to focus on implications drawn from this and other studies for university-based health instruction and the potential for university-based health instruction as a means of promoting high level wellness as a lifetime pursuit.

Traditionally, health care/health promotion professionals have relied on a face-to-face format for their teaching and are now becoming increasingly involved with new and creative ways to use microcomputers in educational technology. These methodologies have their limitations. Each is limited by the number of participants who can be reached at a given time, the availability of local experts, the existence of the necessary hardware and software, and accessibility due to special characteristics of the audience. These limitations often dictate what presentations health professionals can offer, what media can be used, and which groups will attend. Health care/health promotion professionals must not lose sight of readily available, nontraditional, cost effective methods that serve to enhance high level wellness in a broad and diverse population. The alternative health promotion delivery systems of radio, audioconferencing, and teleconferencing, as discussed in this article, can be used in a variety of settings (school, university, community, and worksite), applied to all levels of health promotion and education (elementary through university education and community/worksite offerings), and can increase awareness of additional methods of communication of health-related information by health professionals.

Worksite health promotion programs developed and promoted by community groups are one of the many program options that corporate decision makers may choose to enhance the health and well-being of their employers. This article describes the development of the American Heart Association's health promotion program, "Heart At Work." The findings from extended field studies and other program evaluation activities are summarized. Implications of evaluation studies to the "Heart At Work" program and health promotion programs in general are discussed.

Employers became interested in sponsoring health promotion activities in the mid 1970s. When "Health Objectives for the Nation" was published in 1980, the worksite was recognized as a prominent setting for health promotion activities, and overall attention to the importance of prevention measures surged. By the mid 1980s health promotion programs seemed to be as firmly entrenched in the workplace as in other sites. Yet, beyond the supposition that business had become a major force in health promotion, firm data about worksite health activities simply have not been available. The National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities was conducted to determine the extent and scope of activities in worksites across the United States. The survey provides quantitative evidence that the worksite is indeed a major channel for health promotion activities. With the survey data in hand, the size and shape of the challenge is known. Action must begin on the opportunity to provide health promotion activities for everyone at his or her place of work.

Since 1982, two major developments in the worksite wellness are that: A) Wellness has surpassed the point of being a fad and is being woven into the fabric of the work-place; and B) Worksite health promotion programs have surpassed the point of being quiescent benefits for employers and employees to being documented quantifiable and qualitative benefits. Seven evidences are discussed to substantiate the first development, and a series of studies are cited to demonstrate definitive healthful changes attributable to the emphasis on wellness and the documentable economic benefits associated with worksite wellness programs.

This article reports data from a random sample survey designed to estimate the extent of employee health promotion activities in Texas. Factors, resources, and barriers which might be associated with the adoption of these activities also are examined. The respondents reported more traditional health and safety activities than those dealing with health promotion. Alcohol and drug abuse activities were, in some cases, also more prevalent than health promotion activities. Employers, however, intended to offer more health promotion activities in the future than other types of activities. Voluntary health agencies were the community resources most frequently used by the respondent organizations. Cost and other barriers were explored as were perceived rationales for programs. The types of outside assistance most desired by the respondents were consistent with an information-gathering stage of implementation.

Recent years have seen a rapid growth in the number of worksite health promotion programs being offered. While the potential benefits to employers of such programs are many, a variety of issues influence to what extent these benefits are obtained. This article identifies several such issues in the form of questions which need to be addressed by organizations engaged in health promotion activities. Questions relating to program needs and objectives identification, program introduction strategies, costs, legal issues, and ethical considerations are discussed. It is suggested that continued growth and success in worksite health promotion activities is in part dependent upon thoughtful consideration of such questions.

This article identifies 19 organizations (two federal government, nine not-for-profit and voluntary health agencies, and eight for profit) that offer resources on a national basis for employers and health professionals who desire to initiate worksite health promotion programs. These resources are divided into one of four categories: publications, consultive services, programmatic services, and audiovisuals. The variety represented by these organizational offerings suggests that it is unnecessary to "re-invent the wheel" in order to initiate a worksite health promotion program.