Archived Projects

IHPS worked with Lockheed Martin Corporation and Truven Health to conduct analyses and prepared a manuscript reporting the incidence and prevalence of low back pain in an employed population. Other projects with Lockheed Martin Corporation included developing alternative methods for determining the prevalence, incidence, and cost burden of coronary heart disease.

American Specialty Health – Healthyroads Weight Management Program Return-on-investment

American Specialty Health contracted with our team to evaluate the return-on-investment (ROI) from the Healthyroads Weight Management Program, using a sample of 890 participants. The ROI evaluation was conducted using a calculator developed by Truven Health that estimates ROI by comparing changes in medical care and productivity costs to program costs using a defined set of inputs. Changes in medical care and productivity costs were determined by adjusting baseline costs based on changes in participants' health risks and demographics. To determine the changes in health risks, Healthyroads health risk assessment (HRA) data were analyzed for changes over time. Health risk factors included in the ROI model include poor exercise habits, poor nutrition, high cholesterol, and depression among others. The goal of this project was to demonstrate how employers can estimate the ROI from health promotion programs. Project findings were published in peer reviewed journal.

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Brazilian Social Services for Industry – Consulting on a National Integrated Health Management Strategy

IHPS provided consulting on the development of a national integrated health management strategy for the Department of Quality of Life at the Brazilian Social Services for Industry (Serviço Social da Indústria (SESI)), a private not-for-profit institution established in July 1946 with the aim of promoting social welfare, cultural development and improving the lives of workers, their families, and the communities in which they reside. SESI delivers social services in the areas of health, education, leisure, culture, food, and the promotion of citizenship. Besides providing services centrally in Brasilia, regional departments develop programs within industry to promote health, reduce accidents, and improve worker productivity. The primary aim of the consulting activity was to inform and educate senior officials at SESI on methods to evaluate the health and economic effects of workplace health promotion, safety, and productivity programs. Importantly, SESI is seeking ways to collect and analyze financial data in order to develop a “business case” for its services, especially as those services influence absenteeism rates among workers.

Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) – Health Care Cost Containment Initiative

The goal of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Health Care Cost Containment Initiative was to produce a consensus white paper that put forth a set of sound, politically viable policies that BPC believes will constrain cost growth and enhance value throughout the health care system. Prioritizing quality, prevention and wellness was one of the four key focus areas of this initiative. IHPS provided advice and guidance to BPC to identify the best workplace health promotion programs (as one area of prevention important to businesses) demonstrating the highest return-on-investment, scalability and replication opportunities. Based on these successful examples, IHPS also provided a quantitative analysis of ROI potential based on reducing barriers to and increasing opportunities for employers’ adoption of workplace wellness programs.

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association – Healthcare Delivery Initiatives Measurement Project

The BlueCross and BlueShield Association (BCBSA) worked with IHPS to collect data on and evaluate new payment arrangements that were being tested in several states. The purpose of the project was to assess the effectiveness of alternative reimbursement models in terms of their impact on healthcare utilization and cost, quality of care, and patient satisfaction. Using real-world experience, the project gathered and synthesized data from five insurer-provider pairs and reported on the effects of these strategies for health plans, providers, and policymakers.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota – Evaluation of the Health Incentives Program

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota (BCBS MN) contracted with Truven Health and IHPS to conduct an external and objective multi-site evaluation of the Healthy Incentives Program implemented for three of BCBS MN clients. The Program included offering financial incentives to individuals for meeting pre-established pass-fail criteria for biometric screening values. The goal of this project was to evaluate the influence of the Program on member health care utilization, costs, and health risks. The project included an evaluation of each employer separately, and for the three employers combined to determine the broader impact of the program. The study design for the evaluation involved establishing an external comparison group of individuals selected from the Truven Health MarketScan Database. This external comparison group served as a control group against which health care cost, health care utilization and biometric trends were compared. The evaluation also sought to estimate the ROI from the Program.

Bristol-Myers Squibb – Evaluation of the Living Better for Life and Enhanced Benefit for Diabetes Programs

In January 2011, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) implemented the Living Life Better (LLB) wellness program, which was designed to improve the health and wellness of employees and their dependents. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of the BMS LLB program and the Enhanced Benefit for Diabetes program at 12, 24, and 36 months after their implementation. The study entailed two types of evaluations: 1) Quantitative Program Evaluation: assessment of the impact of the programs on healthcare costs and utilization, medication adherence, and workplace productivity; and 2) Qualitative Process Evaluation: assessment of the quality of program implementation of the LLB and Enhanced Benefit programs, and employee engagement in the programs in terms of exposure, satisfaction, and participation rates.

CDC - CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard

IHPS, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health departments, and worksite experts, developed the CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard (HSC). The purpose of this tool is to help employers assess their health promotion programs, identify gaps, and prioritize high-impact interventions to prevent heart disease, stroke, and related conditions. In the first phase of this project, the IHPS study team held meetings and focus groups with CDC subject matter experts and potential end-users to develop the survey tool, establish a weighting and scoring methodology, and improve the tool's scientific evidence base, usability, and relevance. In the second phase of the project, IHPS and CDC evaluated and improved the reliability and validity of the HSC. Specifically, IHPS and CDC field-tested the tool with 146 employers to evaluate its inter-rater reliability (i.e., the degree to which there was agreement between independent respondents) and criterion validity (i.e., the extent to which the HSC scores clustered, whereby organizations with higher scores on the HSC correlated with independent expert ratings obtained in interviews and site visits). The validity study was published in a peer-reviewed journal (click here for article abstract).

This process allowed the researchers to refine the tool, which is available for public use at the CDC Worksite HealthScoreCard website. The HSC is now also available as a web-based application at: www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion or directly at: http://www.cdc.gov/healthscorecard/index.html.

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CDC - Landscape Assessment

In a partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the University of Georgia (UGA), IHPS led a Landscape Assessment of U.S. employers’ Workforce Health, Health Promotion, and Safety (WHHPS) activities to identify the WHHPS components that support efforts to preserve, protect, and improve employee health.

CDC - Promoting Health Policy and Disease Prevention Cooperative Agreement

IHPS developed a report describing the parameters that can be used to develop an updated analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the zoster vaccine in order to address the burden of herpes zoster (a vaccine preventable disease (VPD)) in adults, taking into account such things as current vaccine utilization, vaccine efficacy (in different age and socioeconomic populations), targeted populations (e.g., immunocompromised status), and estimated annual medical costs. Being able to describe the burden of disease that may be prevented through vaccination of adults per year (based on vaccine, targeted populations, risk of disease, and vaccine effectiveness, as well as other factors) will allow for additional economic analyses and better understanding by federal, state and local health departments to better prioritize their limited resources for adult immunization efforts.

CDC – Workplace Health Research Network

IHPS was one of six Prevention Research Centers who participated in the Workplace Health Research Network (WHRN), funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a WHRN collaborating center, IHPS collaborated with other members of the Network to build an infrastructure for informing and applying best practices in workplace health promotion. The five-year research agenda focused on answering questions that have rapid application for improving employee health promotion programs and practices. The WHRN emphasizes cross-cutting prevention and health promotion workplace approaches, innovative solutions for difficult problems in workplace settings, and the practical application of research findings, technologies, and information generated by the network. The WHRN is expected to increase the capacity of public health networks, employers, and their partners to implement science-based workplace health programs that can reduce health risks and improve the quality of life of working Americans, lower health care expenditures, and boost economic growth for U.S. employers.

IHPS developed instructional “Employer User Guides” – based on the strongest research in workplace health promotion, Community Guide recommendations, and insights from subject matter experts. These helpful guides provide simple, step-by-step strategies for implementing physical activity and nutrition & weight management interventions in the workplace. 

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CDC – Worksite Health Promotion: Public-Private Partnerships

In a project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), IHPS and Truven Health joined with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH), and the Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA) to form a private-public partnership to identify strategies by which a public sector agency can effectively support employer efforts to design, implement, and evaluate evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention programs. Using a quasi-experimental approach, we collected data from 27 sites of ten New York City public and private sector organizations. Sites were assigned one of two treatment conditions: high or moderate intensity workplace health promotion interventions. Moderate intensity (control) sites received self-directed behavioral change and physical environmental change programs while high intensity (treatment) sites additionally received a higher level of technical assistance from the NYC DOHMH staff and social environmental support programs. The research measured the incremental effects of high-intensity, comprehensive worksite health promotion interventions developed and implemented by the NYC DOHMH, above and beyond interventions already being provided to New York City employers. The partnership assessed program impact on critical success factors of interest to employers including: improvement in health behavior, biometric measures, health risks, and productivity; health care utilization and cost; and return-on-investment. Baseline and final results have been published in a peer review journals.

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CDC Foundation - Implementing and Evaluating Evidence-Based Obesity Management Programs in Real-World Employer Settings

IHPS and Truven Health collaborated with the CDC Foundation to test the effectiveness of CDC’s LEAN Works! – Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition. LEAN Works! is a web-based resource consisting of interactive tools and evidence-based resources and activities designed by the CDC Foundation and the CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) to assist employers with reducing the rate of overweight and obese employees in the workplace. The principal aim of this project was to determine whether evidence-based interventions and tools developed by the CDC Foundation could be successfully adopted, translated and implemented in real-world employer settings. Study findings were published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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CMS - Medicare Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration

In a project for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Truven Health along with IHPS provided technical and logistical support in the implementation of the Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration (SRRD). Implementation support included developing and implementing recruitment strategies, creating strategic partnerships with professional organizations, providing training and technical support to vendors delivering demonstration services, creating web‐based randomization systems, designing statistical sampling plans with CMS beneficiary data, and assisting in developing data collection instruments.

The SRRD involved over 40,000 Medicare beneficiaries. Using experimental (randomized clinical trial) methods, SRRD assessed whether a comprehensive nationwide health promotion program could reduce multiple health risk factors, including physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, depression, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose in a cost-neutral way. The demonstration also: evaluated whether risk reduction interventions directed at Medicare beneficiaries could achieve a positive ROI within a three-year time horizon; identified and tested tailored intervention materials; tested the program's ability to make referrals to community/volunteer programs; determined whether program features were acceptable to beneficiaries. Studies describing this initiative have been published in the peer-reviewed literature (Goetzel, Reynolds, et al., 2007; Goetzel, Shechter, Ozminkowski, et al., 2007). Also see Final Report and Presentation on study results.

DHHS - Guidance Document on Preparing a Solicitation for Section 4108 of the Patient Protection and Affordability Act

Section 4108 (Incentives for Prevention of Chronic Diseases in Medicaid) of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provide grants to States in order to implement initiatives that involve providing incentives to Medicaid beneficiaries for participating in health improvement programs and demonstrating health improvements through participation in such programs. In order to obtain information to be used to guide States that may apply to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for these grants, CMS contracted with Truven Health to perform a literature review and convene thought leadership roundtable discussions for the purpose of providing expert input regarding CMS’s Section 4108 solicitation. Truven Health performed a scan of the literature to identify relevant articles and best practices pertaining to health improvement incentive programs. Truven Health also planned and convened a series of technical expert panel meetings to obtain expert input regarding the design, implementation, and evaluation of Section 4108. Findings from this project and guidance to CMS on the preparation of a solicitation relevant to Section 4108 were submitted to CMS in the form of a final report.

HERO - HERO Scorecard Validation Study

The Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) introduced the Employee Health Management (EHM) Best Practice Scorecard in 2006 to help organizations benchmark their EHM programs, identify opportunities to improve the programs, and measure progress over time. In order to understand the predictive validity of the Scorecard, or how well the Scorecard predicts employee health and health care expenditures, we leveraged the Truven Health MarketScan Research Databases and the HERO Scorecard database to quantify the relationship between employer scores on the Scorecard and employee health and healthcare cost trends. The study sample included employers who (1) completed the HERO Scorecard and (2) contributed at least three years of health care claims and Health Risk Assessment (HRA) data to the MarketScan Research Databases. Using these employers’ data, we determined there was a relationship between employers’ Scorecard results and employee health risk and cost trends. The study was published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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King County (Washington State) – Health Risk Profile, Absenteeism, and Presenteeism Analysis

The team provided technical advice and assistance in evaluating the health and financial impact of King County’s employee health and wellness program. Beginning with enthusiastic support by executive staff, the County implemented a comprehensive incentive-based workplace health promotion program for its 20,000 employees and dependents. A multi-year evaluation determined that the program improved population health and reduced the rate of increase in healthcare spending. Read more about King County’s program here:

• Employee Benefit News
• USA Today
• Komo News
• King County Executive News

The Monday Campaigns – Developing a Monday Wellness Evaluation Toolkit

IHPS assisted the Monday Campaigns – a non-profit organization that works with Johns Hopkins, Columbia and Syracuse Universities to devote the first day of every week to health improvement.  Our team developed the Mondays Campaign Evaluation Toolkit, which consisted of two turn-key resources. These evaluation tools can help organizations wishing to measure the impact of the Monday Campaigns at their sites. One evaluation tool, the Organizational Assessment Self-Evaluation Form, allows organizations to self-assess program implementation quality, barriers/facilitators, and outcomes related to implementation of the Mondays Campaign. The second evaluation tool, the Employee Assessment Self-Evaluation Form, can assist organizations in obtaining employee feedback on the Monday Campaign topics (e.g., awareness, participation, satisfaction, and self-reported changes in behaviors related to eating habits, physical activity, and tobacco use).

OPM - Comprehensive Evaluation Support for the Federal Employee Worksite Health and Wellness Initiative

The purpose of this project was to conduct an evaluation of a comprehensive worksite health promotion program, called “WELLNESSWORKS”, for the federal employees piloted at the downtown Washington, DC campus of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), General Services Administration(GSA), and Department of the Interior (DOI). The objective was to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the pilot program in improving employee health and well-being, heightening worker productivity, and reducing unnecessary health care utilization and costs. Project activities included: developing a pragmatic “how-to” evaluation guide; customizing an evaluation plan for each of the three participating pilot worksites; conducting formative research; drafting a data management plan; collecting and analyzing baseline data; and conducting ROI projections. Data collected included biometric measures (e.g., BMI, blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol), self-reported health behaviors (e.g., nutrition, physical activity, tobacco use, alcohol use, depression, and stress), self-reported health care utilization and costs (e.g., inpatient, outpatient, emergency room and doctors' visits), self-reported absenteeism (e.g., sick days), , presenteeism (e.g., on-job productivity loss), and program participation. Annual program data collection involving anonymous program satisfaction surveys, administered online to a random sample of employees was developed and administered in collaboration with program vendors.

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New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) – Employee Health Promotion Initiative

A collaborative project between IHPS, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), and the Cayuga Community Health Network, Inc. (CCHN) was established to identify and engage small- to medium-sized employers in health promotion programs, and to assess the potential role of rural health networks in facilitating such programs. Specifically, the project entailed developing a Community-Wide Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Initiative, which began with the administration of a Cardiovascular Health and Productivity Management Inventory. IHPS supported the state’s and coalition’s efforts at recruiting employers to the initiative, developing the inventory with input from key stakeholders, collecting and analyzing data, and delivering results to participating employers. Findings from this project were published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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NHLBI - Environmental Approaches to Obesity Prevention and Management at The Dow Chemical Company

In a large-scale five-year study funded by The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Truven Health, the University of Georgia (UGA), the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), and The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) partnered with IHPS to design, implement, and evaluate an environmental and ecological intervention program aimed at preventing and managing obesity in the workplace. This study assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing moderate- and high-intensity interventions focused on increasing physical activity, improving diet, and managing weight of Dow employees at 12 worksites across the country. The evaluation assessed the program’s impact on health behaviors, biometric measures, health risk factors, healthcare utilization and medical expenditures, absenteeism and on-the-job presenteeism, improvement in key organizational cost measures, employee attitudes toward work, satisfaction with the work environment, and improvement in overall well-being. It also tested whether savings outweighed program expenses, thus producing a positive return-on-investment (ROI). Study findings were published in peer-reviewed journals (Goetzel et al., 2010a, 2010b, 2009, 2008; DeJoy et al., 2012, 2011, 2008; Della et al., 2010, 2008; Parker et al., 2010; Pratt et al., 2007; Wilson et al., 2007).

Partnership for Prevention – Policy Paper

We prepared a policy paper for Partnership for Prevention entitled, “Workplace Health Promotion: Policy Recommendations that Encourage Employers to Support Health Improvement Programs for their Workers.” This paper was part of a collection of reports developed to identify policy options for clinical and community preventive services that will further the nation’s prevention goals.

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Pepsi Bottling Group – A Study of the Relationship between Employee Health and Safety

IHPS and Truven Health conducted a study that examined the relationship between employee health risks and financial metrics using a database containing health risk appraisal (HRA) data, workers’ compensation records, productivity surveys, short term disability files, and health and pharmaceutical claims. The project team employed multivariate models to estimate potential cost savings from improving employee health and safety. Findings from this project were published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Singapore – Analytic and Consulting Support for the Healthy Living Index

IHPS provided consulting to the Singapore Health Promotion Board (HPB) on the development of the Healthy Living Index (HLI), a web-based instrument designed to assess individual health behaviors. Our role included discussions regarding the development of the overall structure, its content domains, scoring schema, marketing/communication strategy, implementation logistics, and evaluation methods. IHPS prepared a white paper that provided an overview of the HLI initiative, reviewed the process followed to develop the instrument, provided background and rationale for each of the domains included in the HLI, reviewed the procedures for scoring and reporting, discussed requirements for further validation and testing, and drew conclusions from this effort.

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Staywell Health Management – ROI Model

In partnership with Truven Health Analytics, IHPS conducted a literature review to inform productivity-related algorithms to build and customize a return-on-investment (ROI) Model tool for Staywell Health Management. Read article 1 and article 2.

Transamerica Center for Health Studies – Developing a Workplace Health Promotion Guide for Employers

The central objective of this project was to develop targeted communication products directed at leaders in the employer community, highlighting the benefits of worksite health promotion programs and strategies for implementation. To achieve this objective, the project developed a step-by-step, easy-to-follow, Employer Guide focused on the organizational structural, procedural, and programmatic elements necessary to ensure a successful start (or-reboot) of a workplace health promotion program.

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Download the Employer Guide

U.S. Army Public Health Command - Psychological Health Demonstrations

IHPS engaged with Force Health Protection and Readiness, Department of Defense, funded by the U.S. Army Public Health Command, on two psychological health demonstrations. The first project was to evaluate a focused psychological intervention aimed at increasing resilience among active duty soldiers. The intervention used principles from sports psychology and performance enhancement, and stress control techniques in a deploying population. IHPS gathered data to examine the effect of the intervention on psychological health, health care utilization, and performance among active duty soldiers. In the second project, the team examined the efficacy of having an installation-level health promotion officer facilitate the coordination and integration of the health promotion council process/activities. The study sought to determine whether a designated health promotion specialist successfully facilitated better coordination of clinical and counseling services, increased awareness of available resources, and orchestrated cooperation among installation agencies by examining mental health outcomes, adverse behavioral incidents, health care utilization, biometric risk factors, and retention in the military.

Whirlpool – Study of the Relationship between Tobacco Use and Costs

The purpose of the study was to assist Whirlpool in determining whether the company’s offerings in both benefit plan design and smoking cessation programs were effective in improving employee health and reducing costs to the organization. Using demographic, health risk appraisal (HRA), healthcare and productivity data, we examined the relationships among demographics, smoking status and costs borne by Whirlpool in terms of workers’ compensation, medical care, and lost productivity. Findings from this project were published in a peer-reviewed journal

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