Wellness Program Follow-Up.

The keys to a successful wellness program are persistent one-on-one outreach and follow-up counseling to encourage health improvement, adherence to treatment regimens, changes in lifestyle behaviors, and to prevent relapse.

Periodic outreach and follow-up procedures provide staff members with a safety net which keeps them involved in the program and prevents treatment dropout and relapse.

Counselors should follow up on workers at least every 6 months throughout the career of the employee at the worksite. the goals of follow-up are to -  

• Involve staff members who have health risks in treatment and risk reduction programs.

• Involve all staff members in health improvement programs and worksite-wide wellness activities.

• Support staff members in carrying out the risk reduction or health improvement activities they have chosen.

• Be certain to help workers follow their treatment regimens.

• Avoid relapse.

• Avoid staff members from dropping out.

• Be certain to help workers maintain behavior changes.

Follow-up could be conducted in person, by phone, mail, and via computer when the technology is available. Most preferable is an in-person contact.

Computer programs which may do case load management are available to help counselors track information and perform follow-up.

Priorities for Follow-Up

People  with multiple health risks must be at the top of the list. People  in key positions like union leaders or department heads with health risks should also be contacted early so that they learn what the program is about and can share the information with others.

Individuals  who need a medical investigation for high blood pressure or cholesterol should also be targeted early. Many workers will have seen their physicians so of the screening, but some will need more encouragement to do so. Those with no health risks can be followed up each year.

A follow-up counseling session can take 20 to 45 minutes. at minimum, follow-up must include those who were told to seek medical investigation for high blood pressure readings, high cholesterol readings, or borderline high blood cholesterol readings with 2 or more other risk factors.

It may include those who were identified as at-risk for one or more of the other major risk factors -  at-risk levels of alcohol consumption, being overweight, and having low HDL.

Follow-Up With Physicians

A letter (see forms) ought to be sent to the physician or clinic of each staff member who has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or is under a physician’s care.

The letter ought to explain the program and ought to include the employee’s relevant, current health measurements.

Along with the letter, send a self-addressed return envelope. Follow-up with the physician must be repeated every 6 months until it’s determined that the employee is under satisfactory control.

Contacting the physician is important for three reasons -

• the doctors receive employees’ health measurements taken at the worksite.

• You receive the blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol readings the physician takes and information on the treatment the physician prescribes.

Many times the worker doesn’t have this information or doesn’t remember it. the information may be used when counseling the worker.

• Follow-up encourages doctors to pay closer attention to heart illness risk factors among their patients.