Most employees do not want formal help in making health changes; they prefer to do it on their own. In guided self-help Wellness Coaches provide support, materials and encouragement. Wellness coaches work with employees to help them carry out a plan to reduce risks and improve their health. Contacts can be made by telephone, through the internet, or by email.
Individual Counseling / coaching
One of the most successful ways of helping individuals change and improve health status is to be counseled (or coached) on a one-on-one basis. Strict confidentiality and accessibility of the service with a flexible schedule by telephone, internet or email encourages employees to take advantage of the benefit.
In published studies, programs that incorporated individual counseling / coaching as part of the program process achieved higher participation rates and achieved greater risk reduction / risk elimination than standard group programs. Studies have demonstrated that individual counseling / coaching is both cost-effective and cost-beneficial.
Wellness Coach
Wellness Coaches are health professionals with knowledge about a wide range of health topics and health risks.
They are able to talk with employees about their medical problems and the treatments prescribed by their doctors. They should have a good overview of nutrition, exercise physiology, pathophysiology of disease, pharmacology, psychology and behavior change skills.
A wellness coach is also trained in screening techniques, for in certain situations she/he may be required to both screen individuals and counsel / coach them. A wellness coach should know how to do the following:
- Review employees’ health risks and make sure employees understand them
- Contact employees who have health risks
- Counsel employees on a one-on-one basis, helping them set goals, solve problems and get expert help when they need it
- Help employees follow their treatment and make lifestyle and health behavior changes.
- Recruit employee into health improvement programs, such as weight loss and smoking cessation
- Work with employees on a one-on-one basis using guided self-help
- Conduct classes and mini-groups if necessary
- Work with your Wellness Committee members to plan and conduct worksite-wide wellness activities
Follow-up
The keys to a successful wellness program are persistent one-on-one outreach and follow-up coaching to encourage adherence, promote lifestyle changes, and prevent relapse. Periodic outreach and follow-up procedures provide employees with a safety net that keeps them involved in the program and prevents treatment dropout and relapse
Ideally, wellness coaches follow up with employees at least every six months. The goals of the follow-up are to:
- Involve employees who have health risks in treatment and risk reduction programs
- Involve all employees in health improvement programs and worksite-wide wellness activities
- Support employees in carrying out the risk reduction or health improvement activities they have chosen
- Help employees comply with their treatment regimen
- Prevent relapse
- Prevent employees from dropping out
- Help employees maintain behavior changes
Priorities for follow-up
Employees with multiple health risks should be at the top of the list. People who need a medical evaluation for conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol should be targeted early. Most employees would have seen their doctors as a result of health screening, but some will need encouragement to do so. Those with no health risks can be followed up annually.
It is important to realize that keeping healthy employees healthy provides the greatest opportunity to make gains in productivity and reduce healthcare costs. Best practice programs make provisions to triage at-risk employees but also provide services to maintain and support healthy employees