The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #65981

Rebekah K. Hersch, PhD, ISA Associates, Inc, 201 North Union Street, Suite 330, Alexandria, VA 22314, 703/739-0880, rhersch@isagroup.com and Royer F. Cook, PhD, ISA Associates, Inc., 201 North Union Street, Suite 330, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Research on workplace-based health promotion programs have increasingly shown that such programs are cost effective and result in a substantial return on investment through lower absenteeism, turnover, and health care utilization costs. However, many program are still cast in a traditional instructor-led mode of presentation. Although such approaches can be effective, they are restricted in time and place, and do not take full advantage of the new Internet-based technologies that permit the creation of programs that are broadly accessible, individually tailored, interactive, and media-rich. Moreover, most current web-based programs are limited to text-based content and information. This presentation will describe a program of research conducted over the last 5 years by the ISA Group that has combined state-of-the-art multimedia technology with science-base health promotion programs. Under a series of grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health, ISA has developed and tested health promotion programs targeting stress and mood management, parenting, nutrition and weight management, alcohol use, and smoking cessation. ISA’s programs are rooted in principles of prominent health behavior change theories and include text-based information, interactive assessments and feedback, testimonials from real people and experts, interactive skill-based exercises, and multimedia vignettes. All programs have been pilot-tested at the prototype stage, then tested in randomized field tests in the workplace. This presentation will include brief demonstrations of the programs, along with results of the field tests and implications for the utility of web-based health promotion programs.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the presentation, the participate will be able to:
• Identify the strengths of web-based programs for workplace health promotion.
• Describe the key elements of effective web-based health promotion programs.
• Discuss the implications of the research results as they pertain to the utility of web-based worksite health promotion programs.

Keywords: Health Promotion, Worksite

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am a principal in the company that developed the programs being presented.