Transcript Slide 1

INSPIRING HEALTHY CHANGE IN THE
WORKSITE ENVIRONMENT
2009 NETWORK FOR A HEALTHY CALIFORNIA
LIZ A. TORRES, MSW
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
5955 S. WESTERN AVENUE
LOS ANGELES, CA 90047
323.758.9480
[email protected]
OVERVIEW
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 Worksite Wellness LA (WWLA)
 Community Need
 Target Population
 Recruitment of Businesses
 Services
 Nutrition & Physical Activity
 Collaboration with LA Regional Network
 Challenges
 Lessons Learned
WWLA MODEL
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 WWLA’s mission is to improve the health of low income
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workers and their families through worksite wellness.
Founded in 1996 to bring basic health education and health
access information to medically underserved and uninsured
low-income workers in Central Los Angeles’ light
manufacturing industries.
Work in partnership with small business owners and health
care providers to deliver culturally and linguistically
appropriate health promotion activities at the worksite.
Use peer health promotoras to assist in the delivery of
services.
Currently work with seventeen worksites
COMMUNITY NEED
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 In surrounding areas of downtown
Los Angeles, a significant number
of low-wage workers employed in
light manufacturing industries.
 Typically do not receive health
benefits or wellness programs from
their employer.
 As a result, they and their families
are uninsured and have limited
access to health care or health
information.
A worker attending a nutrition workshop
at garment manufacturing site
COMMUNITY NEED
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 Many are unaware of when
and where to seek preventive
and/or routine care that can
mean the difference between
a minor and a major health
care problem.
 A significant number have
not had access to culturally
relevant and effective
messages concerning
prevention and healthy
lifestyle choices.
Workers at a landscaping company listen to a
presentation on nutrition and physical activity.
TARGET POPULATION
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• Most workers are Latino – monolingual Spanish
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speaking
Most are foreign born
The majority (62%) of employees are women
Nearly half live below the FPL
Many are in transition and change jobs &
addresses
TARGET BUSINESSES
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 Industries targeted by WWLA include garment, food
processing and light manufacturing.
• Manufacturing industry comprises 13% of the total
workforce in Los Angeles.
• Focus of WWLA has been on smaller businesses
based on the assumption that they are less likely to
provide health insurance or benefits to their
employees.
RECRUITMENT OF BUSINESSES
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 Strategies used over the years include:
Cold call visits to businesses
 Exhibits and presentations to business community
 Outreach to business and community
organizations
 Limited media
 Over WWLA’s history, various staffing
configurations and consultants have been used to
support ongoing recruitment efforts.
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SERVICES OFFERED
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• WWLA currently offers
services in three main
areas:
1) Health Education
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Topics include:
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Breast and cervical cancer
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Nutrition and physical
activity
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High blood pressure
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Sexually transmitted
diseases
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Health care access
2) Referrals to Community
Clinics and County
Programs
3) Enrollment Assistance
and Follow up
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Medi-Cal, Healthy Families,
Healthy Kids, etc
HEALTH EDUCATION
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WWLA brings culturally
sensitive and linguistically
appropriate preventative
health education through
presentations and health
awareness materials.
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Delivered during the worker’s
extended breaks or (30 minute)
lunchtime
For worksites that do not have
lunchroom facilities, presentations
are conducted directly in the work
area or in outside areas of factories
A presentation at Simply Fresh Fruit, a fruit processing company
NUTRITION & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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 WWLA adapted the nutrition and physical activity
curriculum from California 5-A-Day program specifically
for our target population at worksites.
 Curriculum was developed into a series of 3 to 5 sessions:
 1) consuming 2 cups of fruits and 3 cups of vegetables a
day
 2) grains, milk, meat and beans and oils
 3) weight control and portions
 4) physical activity
 5) summary, evaluation, and award of prizes
NUTRITION & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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 Delivery method was upgraded to using a laptop
and LCD projector for PowerPoint presentations
on the program.
 Each presentation was presented in a positive and
supportive environment to foster optimal learning.
 Each session began with a review of previous
topics discussed.
 WWLA made healthy food accessible to workers by
providing fresh fruit during presentations.
LUNCHTIME PRESENTATION
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NUTRITION & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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 Recipe booklets and other materials were helpful
in encouraging healthy alternatives to traditional
foods.
 Workers commented on healthy recipes and how
easy they were to prepare.
 One particular area that captured participants’
attention was the alarming fact that Tampico and
Sunny Delight are not 100% fruit juice items.
NUTRITION & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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 Program emphasized
different levels and
modes of physical
activity discussed in
detail.
 Workers were engaged
in a low-impact dance
demonstration during
one of our sessions.
NUTRITION & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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 Throughout our
presentations, trivia
questions were incorporated
that reinforced key concepts
of the food groups.
 At the final session of our
program, a quiz was
included in our Power Point
presentation to which
workers could respond
verbally rather than taking
written surveys.
NUTRITION & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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 Incentives were provided
to WWLA by the Latino
5-a-Day Power Play!
Campaign.
 Workers were very
pleased to receive items,
including t-shirts, lunch
bags, tote bags and
aprons promoting
consumption of fruits
and vegetables.
NUTRITION & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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 Found that nutrition and physical activity are subjects that
appeal to the majority of workers.
 We were effective in increasing awareness and knowledge
of the various food groups among workers as demonstrated
in our verbal quizzes conducted throughout our program.
 Found that the majority of participants gained and retained
the information from our presentations.
 Workers commented on our friendly staff and content of
our presentations, indicating that the information helped
them become more aware of their unhealthy eating habits.
COLLABORATION WITH LA REGIONAL NETWORK
FOR A HEALTHY CALIFORNIA
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 In addition to providing nutrition and physical activity
presentations, WWLA embarked on encouraging
employers to adopt worksite policies supporting workers
to make and sustain healthy behavior changes.
 WWLA collaborated with the Los Angeles Regional
Nutrition Network for a Healthy California Worksite
Wellness Program.
 Identified a fruit salad processing company (employs 185
employees) eligible to participate in the Network’s
program.
COLLABORATION WITH LA REGIONAL NETWORK
FOR A HEALTHY CALIFORNIA
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 In December 2007, met with business and made a
presentation of program.
 Business agreed to participate and assigned a company
representative to work with us.
 Workplace environmental assessment was conducted.
 To begin implementation of the Take Action program
and policies based on assessment results, company
representative sought to assess employees’ interest in a
wellness program and to joining a wellness committee.
COLLABORATION WITH LA REGIONAL NETWORK
FOR A HEALTHY CALIFORNIA
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 Employee interest survey utilized by the Network
was selected to administer.
 After several delays, (it was necessary to translate the
survey into Spanish by the Network and the
company was dealing with a food recall), the survey
was administered in late April 2008.
 Fifty-six surveys (30% of 185) were returned.
 Results indicated the majority of employees were
interested in learning and making behavior changes
about nutrition and physical activity.
COLLABORATION WITH LA REGIONAL NETWORK
FOR A HEALTHY CALIFORNIA
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 Twenty-five employees also indicated interest in
joining a worksite wellness committee.
 Company applied to American Cancer Society and
Network for a Healthy California for funds of
$2,600 to provide incentives for proposed
activities.
 WWLA assisted company with their application
which was approved effective September 2008.
COLLABORATION WITH LA REGIONAL NETWORK
FOR A HEALTHY CALIFORNIA
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 Due to several delays on behalf of the company, forming the
wellness committee did not begin until October 2008.
 At that time, WWLA and the Network met with the wellness
committee to review the activities that they would
undertake.
 Response was very positive.
 Since then, the company has not been able to move forward
with any of the proposed activities and as a result, funds
from the American Cancer Society have been cancelled.
CHALLENGES
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 Seasonal business fluctuations can make scheduling of
activities difficult.
 Implementation of curriculum at larger worksites is time
consuming and complex.
 Programs must be culturally and linguistically relevant to
the target population.
 Participant small manufacturing businesses do not have the
staff to establish and implement programs and policies
without ongoing support and assistance from WWLA
involving a significant amount of staff time.
LESSONS LEARNED
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 Although senior management “agrees” to allow
programs and access to workers, do not provide
support needed for implementation.
 Utilizing the worksite is an untapped venue for
reaching a population that cannot afford to take
time off from work to seek information.
 WWLA’s unique model provides a much needed
resource to ensure that this hard to reach
population receives current health promotion.