Report No. 062-12

TO:  Chair and Members of the Board of Health
FROM:  Graham L. Pollett, MD, FRCPC, Medical Officer of Health
DATE:     2012 April 19

Increasing Workplaces Health Promotion Capacity Through “Health @ Work” Display Kits

Recommendation 

It is recommended that Report No. 062-12 re Increasing Workplaces Health Promotion Capacity Through the Provision of Health @ Work Display Kits be received for information.

Background

Chronic disease prevention in the workplace setting requires a comprehensive health promotion approach to increase the capacity of workplaces, aid in the implementation of healthy policies and programs, and establish a supportive environment. According to the World Health Organization, the workplace is considered a priority setting for health promotion.  The workplace directly influences the physical, mental, economic and social well-being of workers, and in turn, the health of their families, communities and society. It offers an ideal setting and infrastructure to support the promotion of health within a large audience. The health of workers is also affected by non-work related factors. Societal outcomes of this approach include increasing the adoption of healthy behaviours that will reduce risk factors associated with chronic diseases such as poor diet, obesity, tobacco use, physical inactivity, alcohol misuse and exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Under the Ontario Public Health Standards, the Health Unit is mandated to use a comprehensive health promotion approach to increase the capacity of workplaces to develop and implement health policies and programs, and to create or enhance supportive environments.  To promote healthy behaviour changes in the workplace, two workplace kits including information and interactive activities were developed.

The first workplace kit, Nutrition and Physical Activity @ Work Kit, was created in 2008.  This workplace kit has since been expanded and contains:

• Display panels and fact sheets that provide information on sweetened beverages, caffeine, and salt.
• Display panels on physical activity related to being “in motion^TM” and the benefits of walking.
• Interactive props that provide models of food serving sizes using everyday items and the amount of salt, caffeine, and sugars contained in common beverages.
• A variety of short DVDs that include topics such as:
• General healthy eating
• Kitchen tips and food handling
• Nutrition labelling
• Healthy shopping and cooking
• How adults can fit physical activity into their daily schedules
• How to set short term and long term goals to help achieve healthy lifestyle changes
• Copies of Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults - 18 - 64 Years and Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide.

A second kit, Alcohol, Tobacco, Cancer Screening and Sun/UV Safety @ Work Kit, was made available to workplaces at the beginning of March 2012.  This workplace kit contains:

• Display panels on alcohol risks, tobacco cessation, cancer screening and ultraviolet (UV) safety.
• Fact sheets related to alcohol risks and standard drinks, cancer screening for men and women, tanning lights and sun safety, and tobacco cessation/Smoke-Free Ontario Act.
• Interactive props that demonstrate the standard drink amounts, fatal vision goggles demonstrating impaired vision while driving under the influence, fecal occult blood test sample kit, sun/solar ultraviolet kit and instructions including a UV index poster, four sample sunscreen products that indicate the sun protective factor and their costs, sample tobacco quit kit, and instructions on how to calculate the cost of smoking and the time spent smoking.
• A cancer screening jeopardy DVD game with instructions.
• A DVD on how to quit smoking and stay smoke free.

Use and Evaluation of Kit 

Both workplace kits may be booked throughout the year by workplaces in Middlesex-London.  The Nutrition and Physical Activity @ Work Kit was borrowed on 34 occasions from 2008-2010.  In 2011, the kit was borrowed on 16 occasions.  Borrowers of the kit are asked to complete an evaluation to provide feedback on the borrowing process and kit contents.  Positive feedback has been consistently received from the workplaces on the kit’s contents, information, and usability.  This monitoring and feedback process will be used with the new Alcohol, Tobacco, Cancer Screening and Sun/UV Safety @ Work Kit.

Identified Next Steps

Both kits will be promoted through workplace e-bulletins, www.healthylivinginfo.ca, at various workplace workshops/conferences and at www.healthunit.com.

In response to community need, staff members from both the Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control and Healthy Communities and Injury Prevention Teams are developing an online toolkit to complement the Workplace Kits.  The online toolkit will provide sample activities and policies that can be implemented in the workplace.  This electronic version of the toolkit will be similar to the Health @ Work 4 All workplace manual and will follow the World Health Organization’s four avenues of influence: Physical Work Environment, Personal Health Resources, Enterprise Community Involvement, and Psychosocial Work Environment. 

This report was prepared by Ms. Nadine Cruickshank, Public Health Nurse; Ms. Kim Leacy, Public Health Dietitian; Ms. Kaylene McKinnon, Public Health Nurse; Ms. Sarah Neil, Public Health Nurse; Ms. Melissa Rennison, Public Health Nurse; and Ms. Linda Stobo, Manager, Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control Team.

Graham L. Pollett, MD, FRCPC

Medical Officer of Health

This report addresses the following requirement(s) of the Ontario Public Health Standards:

Chronic Disease Prevention Requirements 4, 9, 10, 11, 12 and Prevention of Injury and Substance Misuse Requirements 3 and 4