http://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/The FitSense Australia Wellness Forum(c) 2007 FitSense Australia Pty LtdITCN.COM Enterprise Forum Software5QTIP, This is a good question and it extends further than just the qualifications of staff. It is also important to consider the quality of the systems that your service provider has to offer. Firstly, to answer your question the main difference between a personal trainer and an exercise physiologist (who is probably the ideal person to conduct their health assessment) is that a personal trainer undertakes a relatively short course training them in the area of exercise prescription. On the other hand an exercise physiologist is tertiary qualified and undertakes a minimum three-year degree which provides them with the basics as well as the detailed science behind human physiology. To get more information on exercise physiologists, I suggest that you referred to the AAESS website (www.aaess.com.au). When it comes to other aspects about quality of corporate health providers, it is important to also consider the assessment protocols used, type of testing equipment used, how the results are analysed and interpreted, and a variety of other factors. Organisations offering a high level of service will generally be members of The Health and Productivity Institute of Australia (www.hapia.com.au), of which FitSense is a member. So in summary, my recommendation would be to look for organisations that offer both fully qualified and experienced staffand an organisation that is well structured to effectively deal with the information obtained in the workplace wellness program and to assist staff to improve their health and fitness. I hope this helps. Ben http://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread40.aspx10/28/2008 6:08:33 PMLooking at quality assurance with our programs, what qualifications are best suited to individuals conducting corporate wellness programs? There are a lot of PT's emerging and my understanding is they have not gone through the same tertiary education as say exercise physiologists? Is there really going to be much of a difference or is it just a fancy name for a PT? Again, all info is appreciated. QTIPhttp://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread39.aspx10/27/2008 4:31:56 PMFatCat, This part of the report also jumped out at me. I felt it was alarming that people still rated their health highly despite a number of obvious lifestyle issues. Health risks such as lack of exercise, smoking and high risk alcohol consumption will not immediately result in reduced health, but over time these modifiable health risk factors do result in an increased risk of disease and poor health. Your question of how do we make these individuals aware of this risk is a difficult one and there are probably many and varied answers. From our end, as a provider of wellness services to organisations, we use individual health and fitness assessments to highlight risk areas to participants. Many people like to know 'their score' or 'their result' so having a variety of health tests done and then educating them on the meaning of these results can often be eye opening. For this situation it is crucial to allow enough time in the assessment to address these areas. We also use group education sessions to try and educate individuals on making appropriate lifestyle choices. Knowledge is definitely a key factor to improved long term health. Additionally, there are a variety of other factors which may assist in bringing individuals perception to reality, however I think this will always be an issue we face. Do you have any thoughts? Thanks Ben http://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread38.aspx7/28/2008 6:08:48 PMI?ve been reading [bold]Australia?s Health 2008[/bold] produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare with great interest. One of the findings in particular has struck me ? i.e., the extraordinarily high percentage of people with major health issues who still self rate their health status as ?excellent? or ?very good?. For example, 44.9% of sedentary people, 47.8% of people with high risk alcohol consumption, 40.6% of obese people and 43.4% of daily smokers ALL self assess their health as ?excellent? or ?very good?. This finding clearly demonstrates one of the biggest obstacles health promoters and providers of corporate wellness programs face in encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyles ? i.e., that having major health problems or risk factors doesn?t necessarily mean that people feel unwell and so the fact that they have health problems or carry health risk factors may not on its own be an incentive for them to make and maintain healthy lifestyles. How do you think health promoters and corporate wellness program providers can bridge the gap between people knowing the facts about the health risk factors they may have and actually succeeding in getting them to make healthy behaviour change long term? http://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread37.aspx7/25/2008 4:32:03 PMQTIP, Obviously one of the goal of a corporate wellness program is to get people active, and as they get active they may like more of a fitness (or functional) based assessment rather than the standard health based assessment. This can definitely be done and may assist in offering those younger or more active employees a suitable assessment option. The downside to offering this assessment is that you may not get a full health profile, which may have a negative impact on the monitoring of your long term company health status tracking. However, the benefits of the fitness assessment may outweigh this negative as it might get more people into your program. Additionally, you may have a more comprehensive assessment that covers both the health and fitness aspects. For example, FitSense offers three types of comprehensive assessments: - LifeCheck - health based assessment with consultation; - FitCheck - fitness/functional based assessment with consultation; - Executive Assessment - combination of the above. Obviously the executive assessment is going to be the most effective in achieving everyone's needs as well as getting a full profile for long term monitoring; however, the downside is that it is more time consuming and costly. I think this is where a company's priorities will determine the best option. One major aspect of any assessment, is the accompanying consultation and action plan which the exercise physiologist develops with the participant. This is the key to making successful lifestyle change and helping the individual participant achieve their goals. I hope this helps. Benhttp://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread36.aspx6/23/2008 1:28:50 PMWe currently run assessments in the workplace but they are more of a traditional health measure (cholesterol, blood glucose). They have been invaluable for assessing the health risks of our employees but we are getting a larger demand for more physical assessments (young and old wanting some functional feedback, because they are already active). I assume they exist, we don't just want PT sessions but something measurable. Is one going to have better health outcomes for the organisation than the other? I guess the costs involved with a physical assessment would far outweigh a more traditional assessment?? Any info would be helpfull http://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread35.aspx6/5/2008 4:58:18 PMReducing workplace stress and achieving a healthy work/life balance appears to be a priority concern across the board. Interestingly, in the same Polish research, the respondents were asked to list what kinds of healthy living support they would like from an ideal employer. They could choose 3 things from a list of options. Among the results were these interesting statistics: 34.6% said that managers should ensure that work is "not too stressful", 29% said that a high level of safety and comfort in the workplace should be assured, 24.9% said employer supported medical and health check ups and 13.5% said the provision of stress management training. Clearly, the importance of stress management and stress minimisation to employees comes through in this feedback. Just as interesting, in response to the same question, less than 5% nominated a healthy canteen menu and smoking cessation programs on their list of priorities. The fact that these were rated lowly may not mean they weren't important to the respondents. It may just be a further reflection of how important stress management and associated issues are in comparison. Or it could be that good nutrition and quit smoking messages have already penetrated the thinking of the respondents and don't need further emphasis. http://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread34.aspx5/21/2008 3:39:23 PMThis is definitely interesting research. Thanks FatCat. Work hours are getting longer (in Australia anyway) and this is an indication that employers are expecting more from employees. While stress management showed up as a priority for both age groups, what is interesting is that other priorities varied between age group. What this highlights is that employers, and workplace wellness programs, need to take into account the varying needs of different age groups. Thanks again FatCat and keep the research coming. Ben http://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread33.aspx5/8/2008 3:31:08 PMFatcat This looks like an interesting study. Stress seems to be hard to measure in real terms (eg like a cholesterol reading) but it does have a significant effect on people of all age groups. Why do people think stress is such a problem around the world? Is it because of work (eg longer hours, larger workloads)? or could it be mediated better by individuals increasing their activity levels and awareness of what triggers their stress response? Pulsehttp://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread32.aspx4/29/2008 9:35:31 AMI thought readers of this forum might be interested in some recent research from Poland where they interviewed 1138 employees from 250 different med-large organisations (>100 employees each) and asked them what they wanted from workplace health/wellness programs. The interviewees were divided into two age brackets (25yrs-35yrs and 45yrs-55yrs respectively) with the express purpose of finding out if older employees wanted different types of workplace wellness services to younger people. The reasoning behind this was that Poland like many other countries has an ageing workforce. Interestingly, the older employees rated employer provided/subsidised medical/health services and stress management/reduction strategies highest. The younger employees also rated stress management/reduction strategies highly but rated employer provided/supported work based sporting opportunities more highly than medical/health services. This research illustrates that stress is an issue for both older and younger employees, and that effective wellness programs need to be diverse and cater for the wellness interests of employees of different ages. http://www.fitsense.com.au/wellnessforum/thread31.aspx4/11/2008 12:14:05 PM