The workplace is an ideal location for the promotion of cardiovascular health and workers are a prime target when it comes to the prevention of chronic diseases, says Anne Farrell, the Workplace Health promotions officer at CIE. She believes that employees of any company are a ‘captive audience’ and, as such, should be exploited in the fight against cardiovascular disease. 

She believes that employees’ health should be given as much attention as their safety in the working environment: “We need to look at health in the workplace and it needs to be on a par with safety.”

Speaking at the recent EuroPRevent 2012 conference in Dublin, Ms Farrell explained: “My role is a proactive role in keeping well people well in the workplace.” 

‘Gutbusters’ project

Ms Farrell was responsible for the development of the Gutbusters project, which was rolled out to drivers and staff at Dublin Bus in 2006-2007. 

The objective of this eight-week in-house health promotion project was to support a healthy lifestyle and manage the weight of the employees at the company, and involved 330 participants from eight bus depots around the capital.

Employees were incentivised to participate via competition between the different depots in the form of a ‘weight loss league’ and the achievement of their own personal goals.

Participants’ measurements were taken before, mid-way through and at the end of the study. This included height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol and peak flow.

A confidential questionnaire was also completed by each of the candidates, which included details of their physical health, health habits (smoking, exercise and diet) and their personal goals.

Other tools used as part of the programme included the distribution of health information leaflets, the provision of lectures, and the issuing of personal fitness programmes. Employees also had access to dietitians, who they could consult for advice on diet and nutrition. 

Participants took part in dance, walking and gym challenges. They also engaged in a weekly Weight Watchers programme. Meanwhile, digital images and film footage of their progress were recorded.

Outcomes

The programme resulted in a quantified trend towards a reduction in weight, waist circumference, cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure. The winners of the competition, from the Clontarf Dublin Bus depot, lost a total of 13 stone between them. Some workers gave up smoking, while others came off medication for diabetes and heart disease. In addition, positive feedback about the initiative was received by the friends and family of the participants.

Limitations

Despite the overall benefits of the campaign, there were some limitations. Although employees ‘succeeded’ in the short term, some reverted to their old habits after time. Other limitations included the relatively low uptake of the programme – just 50% of the staff took part. Also, the limited time resources, the Weight Watchers fee (only partly subsidised by the company) and the inadequate lead-in time prior to the launch of the project led to difficulties.

Future initiatives

Since the Gutbusters project, Ms Farrell has worked on the Life Fit programme, a year-long project with Irish Rail and Bus Éireann employees, and is currently in the process of developing a new initiative called Race to a Healthy Waist. This upcoming project focuses mainly on promoting physical activity among the staff of Bus Éireann, Irish Rail and Dublin Bus.

The project – which is now in the design stages – is different in that employees must pay a fee to take part. If, at the end of the project, they have successfully completed 80% of the programme, they will be refunded e100 of this fee.

Speaking about the Race to a Healthy Waist initiative, Ms Farrell said: “The focus is on physical activity; getting people moving. The real focus is getting rid of those bellies around the country and lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.” 

Win-win

Ms Farrell – who has previously worked as an occupational health advisor with IBM and an occupational health and safety nurse with Toyota – believes that in order to convince employers to buy in to any health programme for their workers, there needs to be a ‘win-win’ approach. 

Employers must be convinced that “the true value of any company lies entirely in the people who work for it” and that a company cannot function healthily if its staff is not healthy.