San Diego County's Live Well @ Work Initiative: Advancing Employee Health through Policy, Systems and Environmental Change

background

Worksite wellness programs are an effective strategy to impact population health. Through Live Well San Diego, the County of San Diego’s long-term vision to advance a healthy, safe and thriving region, the Live Well @ Work (LW@W) initiative is improving employee health and helping businesses thrive by focusing on prevention and reduction of the leading chronic disease risk factors. The Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention program through the California Department of Public Health funded LW@W to work with employers of low income residents to develop programs and policies that create a culture and environment supportive of health.  

methods

Through partnerships with the University of California, San Diego-Center for Community Health and multiple community partners, LW@W is leveraging policy assessment tools and community resources to drive employer adoption of policy, systems, and environmental change strategies. In addition, through the LWSD Partner Designation program, champion businesses are recognized for their commitment to healthy employees and communities. LWSD also provides a platform for partnerships with local Chambers of Commerce for extending the initiative’s reach.

results

In 2013-14, the LW@W supported 29 employers to improve access to healthy foods and physical activity, impacting over 2,000 low-income employees. Evidence-based tools were employed to establish physical activity policies, healthy dining guidelines, healthy vending policies, active worksite wellness committees, and fresh produce delivery systems.

conclusions

LW@W is a replicable model to improve employee wellness through policy, systems, and environmental changes and improve an employer’s bottom line.