Author Names, Degree, Affiliation • Author Name, Degrees, Affiliation – HelveticaIndiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis Indiana

Abstract

Background & Program

Organization: Indiana University (IU) is one of the largest employers in Indiana, with more than 17,000 full-time employees on 8 campuses. It is a major public research institution, grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, and a world leader in professional, medical, and technological education.Program: The IU Workplace Health and Wellness Survey of full-time IU employees was conducted in 2013 to establish baseline measures of workplace health and support. Sensitive to employee concerns about confidentiality and ties to insurance premiums, the peer-led research team implemented a voluntary, anonymous, and transparent survey strategy that could be repeated over time to gauge the impact of a University-wide wellness initiative.Evaluation Plan: Health measures and perceptions of workplace supports were captured using 67 quantitative and qualitative questions. The survey was considered to be successful if the response rate was ≥ 30% and representative of the employee population by gender, race/ethnicity, and job type.Results: A total of 32% of IU’s full-time employees responded to the survey (n = 5,523), with similar response rates across all 8 campuses (31%-44%). Organizational impact is evidenced through intra- and inter-campus wellness committees, who are utilizing results to foster a culture of health, expand access to wellness programs, and develop innovative approaches to priority issues.

In 2009, Indiana University asked all full-time employees to complete an individualized Health Risk Assessment and to declare their smoking status via personal affidavit. These actions were linked to current and future employee health insurance contributions. An online petition signed by nearly 700 employees noted “considerable damage to the morale” and a need for respect, collegiality, and thoughtfulness. The university responded by dropping the HRA and changing course. A new department was created in 2011, Healthy IU, separate from benefits and employment administration, charged with implementing employee wellness initiatives. With this backdrop, the research team housed in the School of Public Health was asked by Healthy IU to develop a survey approach which could re-engage employees, enabling us to establish baseline measures of workplace health by which progress toward a healthier IU might be gauged.

StrategiesSensitive to employee concerns resulting from past experience, this peer-led research team was intentional in employing strategies to address these concerns, build trust, and encourage participation. We engaged our co-workers to help paint a true picture of workplace health and wellness at Indiana University.

Results 32% of IU’s full-time employees responded to the 2013 IU Workplace

Health & Wellness Survey (n = 5,523), with similar response rates across all 8 campuses (31%-44%).

This survey captured measures of health and perception of workplace supports for health using 65 quantitative and 2 open-ended qualitative questions.

Clear health advantages (e.g., low smoking rate) and challenges (e.g., poor mental health) emerged from the results to guide our employee wellness policies and programs.

Impact AcknowledgementsThe research team gratefully acknowledges:• Patty Hollingsworth and the Healthy IU Department for funding this baseline

survey of employee health & wellness and for working diligently to help us become “the healthiest university in America.”

• Gary Pike, PhD and the team at Information Management & Institutional Research who assisted us with implementation of the online survey and post-survey weighting.

Successful implementation of this survey, given the historical context, marked a fresh start for workplace wellness at Indiana University. Formation of a new inter-campus Wellness Committee quickly resulted. These leaders, as well as campus-specific Wellness Committees, are using survey results to guide organizational & policy changes, as well as improve awareness and access to evidence-based health programs in the workplace. Two of the eight campuses have since adjusted their strategic plans to incorporate employee wellness objectives.

The survey was considered to be successful if the response rate was > 30% on each of the 8 campuses and across the university on the whole, and generally representative of the employee population by gender, race/ethnicity, and job type.

The survey will be repeated at the 2 year interval to gauge progress in our efforts to improve workplace health and wellness at IU.

Strategies Used by a Large Midwestern University to Build Trust and Encourage Participation in a Survey of Workplace Health &

WellnessTess D. Weathers, MPH1• Jennifer M. Alyea, MPH2 • Lisa K. Staten, PhD1 • Gregory K. Steele, DrPH,

MPH21Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences • 2Department of Epidemiology

Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI I 714 North Senate Ave. I Indianapolis, IN 46202 I www.pbhealth.iupui.edu

Evaluation Plan

Satisfactory participation rates were observed among both men and women, faculty and staff, and various racial/ethnic groups.

The percentage of minority survey responders (12%) was somewhat lower than the percentage of minority employees (21%).

Staff participation in the survey was higher than faculty; staff represent 26% of employees but 35% of survey responders.

While nearly half of all full-time employees are men (47%), only one-third (32%) of survey responders were men.

To ensure representativeness, survey responses were weighted by employee demographics prior to generating results.

Results

• Focus on improving health, not reducing healthcare costs.• Focus on our community of employees, not on individuals.

Framing the Purpose

• Autonomous responsibility for survey design and analysis held by team from the School of Public Health with no ties to university administration or health benefits.

• Survey team has expertise in epidemiology, survey methods, and behavioral health.• Survey team, as IU employees, had first hand understanding of 2009 backlash.

Leveraging Dual Roles

• Drew survey questions from established national health surveys, primarily the BRFSS.• Consulted with experts leading the CDC’s National Healthy Worksite Program and

participated in local trainings for the Marion County “community site”.• Placed survey in national context of increasing emphasis on workplace health.

Enhancing Credibility

• Thorough communications sent to each full-time employee in advance.• Met with Faculty Council to address concerns; offered same to Staff Council.• Dedicated e-mail address for all employee questions; responses sent within 1 work

day.• Website created for project as source for information and results.

Promoting Transparency

• Peer-led team insisted the survey be anonymous.• Survey was voluntary and easy, with employees given time to do at work.• Valued all voices; all 17,000+ employees were invited to participate, not just a

sample.• Materials pilot-tested with employees to address potential sensitivities.

Advocating for Employees Survey Response Rates by IU Campus, 2013

Survey Responders Compared to All Full-Time Employees

Full-T

ime Employe

es

Surve

y Resp

onders0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

79%88%

7%5%3%2%11% 5%

By Race/Ethnicity

White BlackHispanic Other

Full-T

ime Employe

es

Surve

y Resp

onders0%

40%80%

65% 74%

35% 26%

By Job Type

Staff Faculty

Full-T

ime Employe

es

Surve

y Resp

onders0%

40%80%

53% 68%47% 32%

By Gender

Women Men