of Midsized Employers in Low-Wage Industries

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Am J Health Promot
• Personal Author:
  Hannon, Peggy A. ; Hammerback, Kristen ; Garson, Gayle ; Harris, Jeffrey R. ; Sopher, Carrie J.
• Description:
  Purpose
  
  Study goals were to (1) describe stakeholder perceptions of workplace health promotion (WHP) appropriateness, (2) describe barriers and facilitators to implementing WHP, (3) learn the extent to which WHP programs are offered to workers’ spouses and partners and assess attitudes toward including partners in WHP programs, and (4) describe willingness to collaborate with nonprofit agencies to offer WHP.
  
  Design
  
  Five 1.5-hour focus groups.
  
  Setting
  
  The focus groups were conducted with representatives of midsized (100–999 workers) workplaces in the Seattle metropolitan area, Washington state.
  
  Subjects
  
  Thirty-four human resources professionals in charge of WHP programs and policies from five low-wage industries: accommodation/food services, manufacturing, health care/social assistance, education, and retail trade.
  
  Measures
  
  A semistructured discussion guide.
  
  Analysis
  
  Qualitative analysis of focus group transcripts using grounded theory to identify themes.
  
  Results
  
  Most participants viewed WHP as appropriate, but many expressed reservations about intruding in workers’ personal lives. Barriers to implementing WHP included cost, time, logistical challenges, and unsupportive culture. Participants saw value in extending WHP programs to workers’ partners, but were unsure how to do so. Most were willing to work with nonprofit agencies to offer WHP.
  
  Conclusion
  
  Midsized, low-wage employers face significant barriers to implementing WHP; to reach these employers and their workers, nonprofit agencies and WHP vendors need to offer WHP programs that are inexpensive, turnkey, and easy to adapt.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Administrative Personnel Cooperative Behavior Female Focus Groups Humans Male Occupational Health Occupational Health Services Organizations, Nonprofit Qualitative Research
• Source:
  Am J Health Promot. 27(2):103-110.
• Pubmed ID:
  23113780
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4180021
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R21 CA136435/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; U48 DP001911/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States ; R21CA136435/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; U48 DP001911-01/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States
• Place as Subject:
  Washington
• Volume:
  27
• Issue:
  2
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:0c50750c7e9186452e26484ddbd573139c29f837f25448b6a9361773460eb945
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/33719/cdc_33719_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 61.24 KB ]