DIY Corporate Wellness Programmes: 5 Things to Consider

If you’re wondering whether or not a corporate wellness programme might benefit your company, make sure you know what you’re doing! According to Joshua Love, the president of national corporate wellness company Kinema Fitness, ‘As the president of a corporate wellness company, Kinema Fitness, I have noticed a recent trend in the way companies are approaching employee-based wellness programmes. Namely, companies are taking employee wellness more seriously now. They are truly trying to figure out the right solution to combat rising health issues and healthcare costs. Unfortunately, too many companies are trying to implement wellness programmes with little to no experience or game plan for success. As a result, more programs fail than succeed.’

 

But where are these companies going wrong? Love notes, ‘Corporate wellness cannot be treated as a band-aid, and you definitely won’t be able to find it in a fitness app. Engagement, motivation, support and strategy are the keys to a successful programme. If employees are not involved in the solution, it’s difficult to succeed. Preventable wellness is a complete lifestyle and behaviour change and change takes time and commitment.’ So here are a few things to bear in mind when you’re designing a wellness programme for your company:

 

1. A Higher Level of Awareness is Essential: People ‘are becoming more and more health conscious,’ admits Love. ‘But due to higher stress, longer work days and constant multitasking, it is more difficult to find the time to act on wellness goals. Creating an on-site wellness programme is important because the majority of an employee’s time is spent at the workplace.’

 

2. Many Chronic Diseases are Preventable: Love points out, ‘According to the CDC, chronic diseases account for 75% of total healthcare costs. They are also the most preventable type of disease. Such illnesses include heart disease, stroke, cancer and obesity. The only way to prevent disease is with actionable steps to halt progression. When old habits are years in the making, you cannot expect behaviour change to happen overnight. However, when a person is able to commit mentally, emotionally and socially and on a conscious level, progress is possible. An employee wellness programme needs to address this through consistent education and layers of accountability.’

 

3. Be creative: ‘Corporate wellness shouldn’t be boring,’ Love asserts. ‘Creating unique and dynamic programmes that consistently evolve over time ensure the best possibility of long-term success. Human beings need to be challenged and stimulated in different ways and different means to create change. Challenge your programme to stay on the latest trends; it will help to appoint a wellness lead that takes direct responsibility over the operations.’

 

4. Combat Rising Healthcare Costs: ‘Healthcare costs are rising year after year,’ notes Love. ‘Employers, especially those at small companies, can simply not afford to take on this burden any longer. As a result, they are passing the costs on to their employees through higher deductibles. But healthier employees can actually help their own bottom line.  Some employers are now lowering employee’s contributions with rebates if they do participate in a wellness programme.’

 

5. Corporate Wellness is Complex and Long-Term: Love argues, ‘The success of corporate wellness is driven by the unique strategy behind it. It involves a framework that outlines short and long-term goals for the employee and the employer. Corporate wellness needs support, leadership, commitment from the vendor, employer and employees. A successful programme takes time and constantly evolves so it can be integrated into the fabric of the company’s culture. Corporate wellness is not just one solution. It is the culmination of many solutions that work together under one strategy. It involves layers of physical activity, education, communication, incentives, and a long-term commitment.’

Categories: Awareness, behaviour change, Chronic Disease, Chronic Diseases, corporate wellness, corporate wellness programme, Employee Wellness, healthcare costs, Long term, takes time

Six Ways to Spread Awareness about Today"s Health Issues

Disease is just as big a public concern today as it has always been. While modern medicine has allowed death rates from infections and some viruses to plummet, we’re not out of the woods health-wise. Instead, the diseases of the day take the form of things like cancer, serious digestive disorders, mental health issues, diabetes, heart disease and neurological illnesses.

 

Most people will, at some point, be touched by these diseases. Indeed, many people have a close friend or loved one that has suffered from one or more of these. Such experiences can make people want to increase awareness, either to promote better research or to help others who are affected. If you want to gain more awareness for a health issue, here are some ways to do it.

 

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth has long been one of the most effective methods of advertisement and promotion. Start helping your cause by talking to people about it. Begin with your friends and family, co-workers or anyone else you think will listen. Some of those people are bound to tell others and so on. The information keeps being passed on.

 

Social Networking

The advent of many popular social networking outlets makes it easier than ever to get the word out. The immense popularity of these sites means that thousands, if not millions, of people could view your page. Simply create a page for your particular cause, update it regularly with information and let the Internet do the rest. Post popular articles and news stories that are relevant to your cause, people will be more likely to share and re-post stories they find interesting.

 

Custom Gear

People love free stuff, and this gives you a great opportunity to raise awareness of your cause. Buttons from www.custombuttonco.com, are an ideal item because they’re inexpensive, come in many varieties and they can be custom-made. You should also consider items like lanyards, keychains and magnets, because of their functionality, people will look at repeatedly. This helps keep the cause in their minds and makes it more likely that they’ll spread the word. You can charge a small amount, something like $1, for these items and donate all the proceeds to your cause.

 

Rallies and Events

Consider holding a rally or event to raise awareness. It doesn’t have to be big or fancy. This is a good opportunity to raise money for your cause, too. People are more likely to spend money when they feel it’s for a good purpose and knowing they donated will make them feel good. It can be as simple as selling ice-cream or candy bars and donating the proceeds to your a charity that supports your cause.

 

Blogging

If a social networking site isn’t quite your thing, you can always start a blog. It may not get as much attention unless you actively promote it, but it’s still a start. This is a good platform for posting and analyzing related medical studies and news stories while expressing your own feelings and opinions on the matter. You can share your blog posts on your Twitter or Facebook account.

 

Fashion

Another ideal way to raise awareness is to appeal to people’s sense of fashion. Sell or raffle off t-shirts, pass out custom pins, or have some hats or bracelets made. When people wear these items, it’s like a walking billboard for your cause.

Cancer and other health problems are rampant in our country today. Most people have a family member or friend who is ailed by a common health problem. One of the best ways to help is to generate awareness and raise money for medical research. It doesn’t have to be hard work and you can start by trying a couple of these basic things.

Categories: Awareness, health, health issues, issues, nbsp, people, raise, raise awareness, raise money, social networking

Listen to Your Body: How Internal Awareness affects Weight

Have you ever tried to count your heartbeats without taking your pulse? It’s not like licking your elbow – you actually can do it! You have what’s called an interoceptive sense, or an awareness of the visceral signals that originate from inside your body. Your internal organs send nerves to the insula cortex of your brain, and this creates a kind of inner dashboard for your physiology – but what’s that got to do with your weight, or even your wellness?

 

A new study, published in Appetite, has found a link between interoceptive awareness (IA) and body mass index; the poorer your IA, the higher your BMI. Led by Doctor Beate Herbert, the researchers found that good IA allows you to eat intuitively, which means that you eat in response to your body’s physical cues, or when you’re hungry, rather than eating based on emotional cues. As you only eat when you actually need to, this helps you to keep the weight down.

 

However, it’s not so simple as just listening to your body; Dr Herbert also found that even though you may be able to perceive your visceral signals perfectly well, you may still choose to ignore them because you find them unnerving. According to Dr Herbert, ‘It’s not enough to perceive interoceptive signals adequately. Appraising these signals as positive or negative is a separate cognitive process, which also determines eating behaviour. One needs to allow oneself to act according to these perceived signals.’

 

Professor Manos Tsakiris at Royal Holloway, University of London, noted, ‘Studies have shown that interoception plays an important role in eating disorders. It’s linked to a deeper awareness of emotions in general, and anorexics – for emotional reasons – choose not to eat. But to date, we don’t know whether a deficit in interoceptive awareness is a cause or an effect of anorexia.’ Dr Rebecca Park, a clinical senior lecturer specialising in eating disorders, pointed out that Dr Herbert’s data was collected from a healthy population. This means that the results may not apply to patients with clinically diagnosed eating disorders, but she still believes in the potential of the results. ‘This mechanism could, if validated, be important in informing future interventions for eating disorders – and obesity, too,’ she commented. ‘The concept of “mindful eating,” to help those with binge eating, builds on this premise.’

Categories: Anorexia, Awareness, body, dr herbert, eating, eating disorders, herbert, Internal Awareness, interoceptive awareness, signals, visceral signals, Weight Management

US Mum Urges for Gun Safety Awareness After Losing Son

Although mass shootings get more attention in the press, a US child’s wellbeing, and family wellness, is far more at risk in the home. A 14-year-old boy in Massachusetts learned this lesson the hard way when he accidentally shot his neighbour; 12-year-old Brain Crowell.

Brian’s mother, Ann Marie Crowell, who spoke to the child and his mother after the incident, explained, ‘He was going, “Click, click, click,”’ and pretending to shoot the gun, not knowing that the gun was loaded. ‘But there was one last bullet. It went into Brian’s neck.’ According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 800 children under 14 were killed in gun accidents from 1999 to 2010.

Since losing her son, Crowell has devoted her life to gun safety and attended the State of the Union address in January as President Barack Obama’s guest. She noted, ‘I had never thought to ask about guns in the home,’ and now urges parents to ask whether there are guns in the home before sending their kids for play dates. ‘If I owned a gun, I wouldn’t be mad that someone asked,’ Crowell assures. ‘If you were going over for a play date to a house with a swimming pool, wouldn’t you want them to lock the pool gate? As a parent, you want to do anything you need to do to protect your child.’

Thomas McInerny, president of The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends that paediatricians ask about guns in the home when taking a patient’s history. He commented, ‘It’s no different than when we ask about safety seats in the car or bicycle helmets, or the temperature of your hot water heater. We want to keep children safe. And most parents say they appreciate it.’

Gun safety awareness is also supported by the National Rifle Association, who run an Eddie Eagle GunSafe Programme in which 18 million children have participated. Spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said that the program teaches kids, ‘If you see a gun, STOP! Don’t Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult.’ He added, ‘The one thing we always recommend is education. You have to teach your children that guns aren’t toys.’

Categories: Awareness, Children, click click, crowell, Gun Safety, guns, Home, Safety, safety awareness, US

Can Children Develop a Concept of Weight Issues by Four?

SWe assume that children learn about the issues associated with weight at an earlier age, but a new study suggests that children as young as four have already learned to dislike fat people. In a study involving 126 boys and girls who had just started school, researchers found that they had already grown to loathe the thought of an overweight story book character becoming a potential friend. However, it was noted that they had no difficulty in befriending the character if he was of a normal weight or had a disability. In fact, only one of the 43 children questioned said that they would choose the character as a pal. Researchers at the Leeds University said that very young children have already picked up on society’s prejudice against overweight people.

The research promotes the theory that young children are far more aware about societal interest in body size and image than we first thought, showing that at just school entry level age, children have learned to understand the negativity that surrounds weight. Although this negativity was shared when the character was disabled, it was to a far smaller extent – the children objected to the overweight character regardless of it’s gender, showing that the weight was the primary issue. Society’s obsession with body has permeated the advertising world and the media, but it seems that children as young as four are now obsessed with weight and size, to a point where it is impacted the relationships they have with other people.

From TV shows to the opinions of their parents, children are picking up on this prejudice, developing a new generation of people more aware of weight than ever before. The underlying social commentary we have about weight and morals is clearly prominent, showing that this stigma we have surrounding people who are overweight is significant. It is reflected by reduced employment opportunities and various aspects of people’s lives, which is further promoted by the stereotypes we are seeing reflected by our children’s views.

Categories: Awareness, Children, weight

How Mental Health Treatment has Changed in a Century

The care of individuals with mental health issues has been revolutionised over the last century, thanks to advances in treatment and greater understanding and awareness of psychiatric disorders and illnesses.

Even those with only minor mental health issues would often have been confined to an asylum or other institution where treatment might have consisted of little more than being locked up in a padded cell. Other treatments were much more intrusive and, to today’s more civilised minds, would now be considered barbaric.

These included psychosurgery or lobotomies, operations in which certain sections of the brain thought to be responsible for the mental illness would be removed. Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) was also common – this involved applying an electric current to the brain, again attempting to treat the “sick” part of the mind. Treatment using antipsychotic drugs was first used in the 1960s as ECT and lobotomies began to be phased out.

But the first radical changes in treatment began in the 1950s when the focus moved away from purely medical interventions to more therapeutic solutions, encouraging greater social support for patients and more treatment in the community and not simply in institutions.

Good mental health has come to be seen as something that also requires good physical health – for example, improvements in nutrition and diet have been shown to bring improvements in individuals’ mental health.

Disorders such as stress, anxiety and depression, which might once have caused an individual to be placed in a hospital, are now seen as disorders that can be treated and managed through several different therapies. Physical activity, for example, is known to boost the part of the brain that can protect us against anxiety and depression, lifting our mood. And so many therapies encourage patients to do more, such as walking or running, to improve their mood.

Such gentle therapies are far removed from the psychosurgery and ECT common just a few decades ago.

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How Mental Health Treatment has Changed in a Century

Categories: Awareness, care, Mental Health