PURPOSE: Intervention at the organizational rather than the individual level is gaining greater attention in worksite health promotion efforts. However, little research has been done on instruments to measure this domain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to further test the utility of an existing organizational heart health support instrument by examining relationships among worksite structural characteristics and comparing these results to other survey findings. DESIGN: One-time cross-sectional. SETTING: New York State. SUBJECTS: One hundred fifteen volunteer worksites in the New York State Healthy Heart Program, representing manufacturing, government, education, health care, and other industries. MEASURES: A survey was conducted using HeartCheck, an organizational assessment of employee support for heart health. HeartCheck contains 175 items measuring organizational support for tobacco control, nutrition, physical activity, stress, screening, and administrative support structure. RESULTS: On average, only 22% of all worksite resources assessed were present in the sample. Having a workforce greater than 250 provided a 12% increase in predicted overall worksite resources. A predominantly female workforce (> 75%) provided 10% higher levels of worksite stress resources. Worksites with unions had higher levels of resources for physical activity (10%), screening (13%), and general supportive structures (10%). The presence of manual labor diminished support for tobacco control resources (-13%). Finally, manufacturing worksites demonstrated a clear advantage for all types of worksite resources, except for stress. CONCLUSION: A number of trends found in this study are consistent with earlier work. Industry type and size both predict worksite supports similar to previous studies. Other findings that appear to contradict previous work, including the relatively low level of support observed in this sample, can be explained by the comprehensive nature of the instrument. Overall, these findings demonstrate the utility of HeartCheck.
PURPOSE: Intervention at the organizational rather than the individual level is gaining greater attention in worksite health promotion efforts. However, little research has been done on instruments to measure this domain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to further test the utility of an existing organizational heart health support instrument by examining relationships among worksite structural characteristics and comparing these results to other survey findings. DESIGN: One-time cross-sectional. SETTING: New York State. SUBJECTS: One hundred fifteen volunteer worksites in the New York State Healthy Heart Program, representing manufacturing, government, education, health care, and other industries. MEASURES: A survey was conducted using HeartCheck, an organizational assessment of employee support for heart health. HeartCheck contains 175 items measuring organizational support for tobacco control, nutrition, physical activity, stress, screening, and administrative support structure. RESULTS: On average, only 22% of all worksite resources assessed were present in the sample. Having a workforce greater than 250 provided a 12% increase in predicted overall worksite resources. A predominantly female workforce (> 75%) provided 10% higher levels of worksite stress resources. Worksites with unions had higher levels of resources for physical activity (10%), screening (13%), and general supportive structures (10%). The presence of manual labor diminished support for tobacco control resources (-13%). Finally, manufacturing worksites demonstrated a clear advantage for all types of worksite resources, except for stress. CONCLUSION: A number of trends found in this study are consistent with earlier work. Industry type and size both predict worksite supports similar to previous studies. Other findings that appear to contradict previous work, including the relatively low level of support observed in this sample, can be explained by the comprehensive nature of the instrument. Overall, these findings demonstrate the utility of HeartCheck.
Authors: Annette E Maxwell; Antronette K Yancey; Mona AuYoung; Joyce J Guinyard; Beth A Glenn; Ritesh Mistry; William J McCarthy; Jonathan E Fielding; Paul A Simon; Roshan Bastani Journal: Prev Chronic Dis Date: 2011-08-15 Impact factor: 2.830