Based on Australian evidence and workplace health programs this session will cover:

• The ‘double whammy' of the ageing workforce and lifestyle related health changes
• Why industry specific strategies are most effective and outcome focused
• How the integration of injury prevention, health promotion and injury management derives superior results to singular approaches
• The clear relationship between health and productivity
• How your organisation or industry can practically plan, implement and measure effective workplace health strategies to achieve positive return on investment

The workplace offers significant potential as a setting to promote healthy lifestyles to the adult working population in Western Australia.  Evaluation of these health promotion programs is essential in determining their worth and success and can play an important role in justifying continued investment in by employers and for guiding the development of future programs and dissemination.  However, despite the high profile support for workplace health promotion in recent years, the evidence on effectiveness of these workplace programs, particularly in the area of physical activity, remains somewhat equivocal.  This is partly due to a lack of practical, rigorous and comprehensive evaluations and limited reporting of methods and tools for collecting and analysing evaluation data.

The diversity and complexity of both the workplace and the multi-faceted health promotion programs often implemented makes them challenging settings for evaluation.  An introduction to the importance of evaluation of workplace health promotion programs will be presented, followed by an overview of practical methods for conducting an evaluation and using evaluation data.  Examples and experiences from conducting the evaluation of the Well@Work pilot project will also be shared and discussed.

This session provides practical tips on how to establish a workplace wellness program using DOCEP’s Workplace Wellness Program, “Work Safe, Work Well” as a case study.

Katie discusses the range of wellness initiatives that have been successful throughout the program and shares her experiences in expanding the pilot program across the whole department.  She shares the successes that have been achieved and also discusses the challenges and barriers faced.