The educational program ought to include approaches to stress awareness/reduction at the environmental level and at the individual level.

Social, physical, and organizational stressors should be explained and methods to ease or elevate stressors should be presented.

At the individual level how changes in attitudes and behaviors help one to cope with stressors; learning techniques to minimize stress response, such as meditation, relaxation response, and exercise.

Content of the program should provide the following –

• Identifying sources of stress

• Relationship of stress to health

• Just how the individual experiences stress, personal, family, work

• Solutions for coping and managing stress

• Techniques for reducing stress

• Value of stress, both negative and positive

• Practical steps of incorporating stress reduction into lifestyle

Personnel conducting stress management programs should have training in psychology, behavioral sciences, or related disciplines such as mental health experts, counselors, health educators, psychologists, and psychiatrists.

Training in a reputable program on how to teach the stress management course including group process skills is a must.

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A nutrition education program ought to include a nutritional needs assessment, education counseling, and referral as necessary.

Educational sessions and materials ought to include the following information –

• The relationship of nutrition and chronic conditions

• Improving eating patterns

• Relationship of nutrition and proper weight maintenance

• Exercise

• Stress

• Blood pressure (BP)

• Cholesterol

• Diabetes and other chronic illnesss.

• Nutritionally exact information regarding the relationship of health to diet, including cholesterol, fats, fiber, alcohol, carbohydrates, salt, sugar, and vitamin/mineral supplementation.

Methods for identifying healthier foods and incorporating low-calorie, high nutrient foods into eating habits. Guidelines for improving eating habits ought to be based on or in line with national recommendations like the Food Guide Pyramid.

Instructor ought to be a registered dietitian, registered nurse, or have a baccalaureate degree or higher in health education with training in nutrition.

If an allied health specialist instructs the program, a consultation and review of the program design by a registered dietitian is recommended.

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Worksite Wellness : Health Promotion Programs and Smoking Cessation.   

July 29, 2010

It is advised that tobacco use cessation programs subscribe to the Code of Practice for Use of tobacco Cessation Programs.
Tobacco use cessation programs should be multi-component with a focus on skills to build positive voluntary behavior modification practices.
Useful techniques include establishing reasons for quitting, understanding the smoking habit, various techniques for stopping and remaining [...]

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Worksite Wellness : Wellness Programs and Exercise Plans.

July 28, 2010

Participatory fitness plans should include education on benefits of regular exercise and risks of a sedentary lifestyle, its impact on cardiovascular health and diseases, its relationship with weight control and stress management, and aerobic activity options.
Discussion and practice of safe principles of exercise – warm up, cool down, frequency, intensity, duration, flexibility and strength [...]

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Worksite Wellness : Wellness Programs and Weight Management.   

July 27, 2010

Health Promotion Program offered is consisitent with scientific and medical recommendations for losing weight, reflects a multi-disciplinary approach which offers four components –  behavioral, exercise, nutrition, and maintenance, and is in accordance with the document Guidance for Treatment of Adult Obesity. It includes –    
• Screening to verify that the participant lacks medical or psychological [...]

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Worksite Wellness : Wellness Programs – Cholesterol Measurement and Education.

July 26, 2010

Program is required to provide appropriate interpretation of cholesterol screening results, including a caution that a single measurement neither excludes nor establishes a diagnosis of their blood cholesterol.
Follow national guidelines –
Total Cholesterol
Desirable cholesterol   < 200 mg/dl
Borderline cholesterol   200 – 239 mg/dl
High cholesterol   > 240 mg/dl
HDL   
Desirable HDL    > 35 mg/dl
Low HDL    < 35 mg/dl
Refer cholesterol screening [...]

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Worksite Wellness : Wellness Programs – Blood Pressure Measurement and Education.

July 25, 2010

Appropriate medical or allied health specialist trained in measurement of blood pressure, referral protocols, and delivering educational messages to participant conducting blood pressure programs. These wellness programs are required to follow national guidelines.
National guidelines for blood pressure (BP) protocols –  
• Calibration of blood pressure measuring equipment must be done at least yearly.
• Two [...]

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Worksite Wellness : Staff Member Screening Programs.

July 24, 2010

Health risk screening programs should be carried out on a one-on-one basis by trained health care specialists. Health risk measures should include the following –
• Blood pressure measurements – at least two blood pressure measurements taken during the screening episode, using a mercury sphygmomanometers or regularly calibrated aneroids.    
• Blood pressure (BP) treatment status [...]

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Worksite Wellness : Health Promotion Programs Recommendations.   

July 23, 2010

Wellness Program directors or providers should’ve a background in health promotion programming and a professional health-related degree or certification.    
They should’ve professionalise in content areas, planning, promotion, administration, examination, and ability to grow a wellness program and tailor the wellness program to the worksite.   
Health Promotion Program providers should have a quality assurance program for reviewing [...]

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Worksite Wellness : Wellness Program Incentives.

July 22, 2010

Incentives may be used to increase participation rates, help with completion or attendance at wellness programs, and to help individuals change or adhere to healthy behaviors.
The purpose of the incentive is to encourage personnel to adopt positive behaviors or maintain an existing positive behavior.
Everybody who achieves a goal or maintains a behavior should [...]

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