TY - JOUR
T1 - Workplace wellness across the lifespan
T2 - A pilot program for health promotion in a low- and middle-income country
AU - Al Bizri, Ayah
AU - Walani, Salimah
AU - Nassar, Anwar
AU - Saab, Bassem
AU - Wakim, Rima Hanna
AU - Noureddine, Abir
AU - Chahrouri, Mario
AU - Nakad, Pascale
AU - Jaber, Dina
AU - Yunis, Khalid
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/8/1
Y1 - 2024/8/1
N2 - Considering that a sizable segment of the population spends significant amount of time at work, workplaces have been identified as practical platforms for health educational programs. Although employee wellness programs in high-income countries have shown measurable benefits in productivity and physical and mental health, evidence-based programs in low- and middle-income countries, such as Lebanon, are unavailable. The aim is to develop and implement a pilot workplace wellness program focusing on health-related areas to improve health knowledge and behavior among working men and women of reproductive age. In collaboration with March of Dimes, the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network developed a culturally sensitive health education program focusing on lifestyle, infection, nutrition and family planning. Sessions were delivered by a multidisciplinary team of specialists at a local bank in Lebanon. To assess the impact of the program, participants completed Knowledge and Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (KBAQ) before and after implementation. KBAQ was conducted 6 months after implementation to measure retention and continuing impact. Forty-seven participants completed the program, of whom 44.7% are male, 98% have university degree and 56.5% are married. Total knowledge score improved significantly from 64.2 to 74.3 and remained significant at 6 months post-implementation with a score of 71.7 (p < 0.001). At 6-month follow-up, emotional score improved (p = 0.028), while smoking decreased (p = 0.008). Also, employees’ health knowledge and behavior showed sustained and significant improvement. We plan to implement our program at other sites and among employees from different backgrounds to understand the impact of the wellness program on employees’ knowledge and behaviors at a larger scale.
AB - Considering that a sizable segment of the population spends significant amount of time at work, workplaces have been identified as practical platforms for health educational programs. Although employee wellness programs in high-income countries have shown measurable benefits in productivity and physical and mental health, evidence-based programs in low- and middle-income countries, such as Lebanon, are unavailable. The aim is to develop and implement a pilot workplace wellness program focusing on health-related areas to improve health knowledge and behavior among working men and women of reproductive age. In collaboration with March of Dimes, the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network developed a culturally sensitive health education program focusing on lifestyle, infection, nutrition and family planning. Sessions were delivered by a multidisciplinary team of specialists at a local bank in Lebanon. To assess the impact of the program, participants completed Knowledge and Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (KBAQ) before and after implementation. KBAQ was conducted 6 months after implementation to measure retention and continuing impact. Forty-seven participants completed the program, of whom 44.7% are male, 98% have university degree and 56.5% are married. Total knowledge score improved significantly from 64.2 to 74.3 and remained significant at 6 months post-implementation with a score of 71.7 (p < 0.001). At 6-month follow-up, emotional score improved (p = 0.028), while smoking decreased (p = 0.008). Also, employees’ health knowledge and behavior showed sustained and significant improvement. We plan to implement our program at other sites and among employees from different backgrounds to understand the impact of the wellness program on employees’ knowledge and behaviors at a larger scale.
KW - health behavior
KW - health knowledge
KW - health outcomes
KW - wellness
KW - workplace
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199126895&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/heapro/daae079
DO - 10.1093/heapro/daae079
M3 - Article
C2 - 39028294
AN - SCOPUS:85199126895
SN - 0957-4824
VL - 39
JO - Health Promotion International
JF - Health Promotion International
IS - 4
M1 - daae079
ER -