Development and impact of a worksite wellness champions program

Objectives: Wellness champions have potential to be a high-reach, low-cost intervention for improving employee health, but research is needed to support this premise. Therefore, this project assessed the impact of a worksite wellness champions program at a large integrated healthcare organization. Methods: A total of 2315 employees responded (56% response rate) to a survey. Results: Program participants (N = 666) were more likely to agree that the organization provides a supportive environment to live a healthy lifestyle (82.7% vs 69.4%, p < .001), more likely to agree co-workers support one another in practicing a healthy lifestyle (76.8% vs 53.7%, p < .001), and to rate their overall health and wellness higher (p < .005) compared to those not familiar with the wellness champions program (N = 675). Conclusions: Employees participating in wellness champion activities have increased their awareness of wellness opportunities, feel supported for having a healthy lifestyle, and rate their perceived health and wellness higher.