• Healthcare provider-patient relationships
• An individual’s exposure to, search for, and use of Corporate Wellness Plan information
• Effective counseling and patient education for behavior change
• Content of public health messages and community campaigns

Effective health communication should have these attributes:

• Accuracy: content is valid and error-free
• Availability: delivered or placed where the intended audience can access the information
• Balance: content presents benefits and risks of potential actions
• Consistency: content is locally consistent over time and is also consistent with information from other reliable sources
• Evidence-based: content and methods of delivery are based on relevant scientific evidence
• Reach: content gets to or is available to as many individuals as possible in the target population
• Reliability: content source is credible; content is kept up-to-date
• Repetition: delivery of/access to the content is continued over time, to reinforce the impact with the audience and to reach new members of the target population
• Timeliness: content is provided when the audience is most receptive to, or in need of, the specific information
• Understandability: reading, language levels, and format are appropriate for the specific audience (i.e., Employees, Family Members, Garrison leadership, etc.)

What the research says about health communication

• Health communication best supports Wellness when multiple communication methods are used to reach specific audiences.
• Effective Wellness and communication initiatives should reflect an audiencecentered perspective, and reflect the preferred formats, contexts, and way of communication for the intended audience.

Material adapted from: United States Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 vols. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, November 2000.
http://www.healthypeople.gov/document/HTML/Volume1/11HealthCom.htm

Strategy #5: Using a small number of targeted priorities maintains Corporate Wellness Plan focus.

• Needs assessment data can be used to identify leading health needs and also high risk populations.
• Choosing a handful of specific health needs on which to focus will maximize efficient use of resources.
• Keeping the Corporate Wellness Plan focus small will avoid duplication of other ongoing company Corporate Wellness Programs.

Strategy #6: Use standardized processes whenever possible.

Reduce the amount of variation within your Corporate Wellness Programs by standardizing all the processes needed for Corporate Wellness Plan planning and begination. By way of example:
• Use the same spreadsheet format for data collection so that the columns are in the same order. This way you can compare data more easily.
• Reuse the same forms for enrollment and attendance. Change the heading as needed.
• Look at other Corporate Wellness Plan processes (like registration, evaluation, marketing, etc.). What parts of those processes can be standardized?
• The Wellness and Prevention Initiatives website (http://chppmwww. apgea.army.mil/dhpw/Population/HPPiFunction.aspx) has many standardized Corporate Wellness Plan resources in a variety of topic areas.

Strategy #7: Corporate Wellness Plan delivery methods should be flexible and adapted to population needs.

• Delivery of products and services may depend on: company needs, training requirements, other scheduling considerations (such as work/duty schedules, school scheduling, etc.), participant preference, and/or availability of staff or space.
• Be flexible: the same produce/service delivery methods may not work for every population.
• Some company’s may want services provided to them as close as possible to the company location; other companies may prefer as many services as possible bundled together at once (regardless of location).
• Take wellness and preventive medicine beyond the walls of the corporation in order to meet leadership and worker needs. Answer the question: “How can we best help leadership and Employees to fulfill their mission?”

Strategy #1: Communication with leadership is essential

• Assess leadership priorities.
• Report Corporate Wellness Plan outcomes back to leadership in a timely manner.

Strategy #2: Corporate Wellness Plan planning must be driven by data.

• Determine specific needs of the target population.
• Focus on the health status of the population as a whole to identify the top health concerns.
• Information should drive decisions regarding which health needs should be addressed first.

Strategy #3: Use electronic data collection and reporting as often as possible.

• Centrally collected data in an electronic format is essential for determining population health needs.
• Electronic reporting is also very valuable when communicating Corporate Wellness Plan outcomes to leadership and other stakeholders.
• Flexible reporting capabilities allow data to be presented as information that can support decision-making, in formats that decision-makers prefer.

Strategy #4: Multidisciplinary collaboration enhances worker health and maximizes available resources.

• Collaboration between health disciplines increases effectiveness of Wellness and preventive medicine interventions.
• Don’t forget to look outside the corporation for collaboration partners.
• Optimized Corporate Wellness Plan outcomes can be reached by coordinating the activities of medical consultants, cadre, community agents, and funding sources.
• Bundling services together also provides the additional benefit to units by conserving training and mission time.
Implementing these strategies can improve Corporate Wellness Plan effectiveness and optimize available resources.