Inbrief: Jul/Aug 1999

Strategies
	Behavior Change
Ann Hope Ceciliy Kelleher Maire O'Connor	Lifestyle and Cancer: The Relative Effects of a Workplace Health Promotion Program Across Gender and Social Class A self-administered cross-sectional survey was used to assess the relative impact of a health promotion program on blue-and white-collar workers of both sexes. The program operated in five different types of organizations and consisted of exercise, nutrition, smoking, stress, breast and testicular self-examination. Significant positive improvements occurred on at least five health behaviors for female workers reporting and four behaviors for male workers, with the greatest gains among blue-collar women. Several study limitations are noted suggesting a cautious interpretation of the results.
	Culture Change
William R. Morris Karen M. Conrad Richard J. Marcantonio Beth A. Marks Kurt M.Ribisl	Do Blue-collar Workers Perceive the Worksite Health Climate Differently than White-collar Workers? A mail survey was distributed to a random sample of 497 both blue- and white-collar workers employed at a large manufacturing company to measure dimensions of worksite health climate: organizational and interpersonal support, and health norms. Statistically significant differences were observed for nearly all aspects of the dimensions with white-collar workers having more positive perceptions than blue-collar workers. The study suggests that future research explore how these perceptions may be enhanced and what role they may play in promoting worker health.
Brian Fisher Thomas Golaszewski Donald Barr	Measuring Worksite Resources for Employee Heart Health A survey was conducted of 115 worksites to test the utility of the survey for measuring organizational support for heart health programs. The results indicate that industry type and size both predict the presence of worksite supports for such programs. the authors conclude that the relatively low level of support observed is due to the comprehensive nature of the survey instrument. The study suggests that the instrument demonstrates utility in measuring worksite health activity.
Research
	Methods, Issues, and Results in Evaluation and Research
Kenneth R. Pelletier	A Review and Analysis of the Clinical and Cost-effectiveness Studies of Comprehensive Health Promotion and Disease Management Programs at the Worksite: 1995-1998 Update (IV) The fourth in a series of critical reviews, this study examines the clinical and cost outcome evaluations of 10 worksite health promotion programs that were comprehensive, multifactorial, and directed at risk management. The studies, conducted between 1994 and 1998, indicate favorable clinical and cost outcomes and suggest characteristics of worksite interventions that may be critical for effectiveness.
Brian C. Martinson David M. Murray Robert W. Jeffery Deborah J. Hennrikus	Intraclass Correlation for Measures from a Worksite Health Promotion Study: Estimates, Correlates, and Applications A sample of 11,711 employees from 24 worksites completed a mailed survey for a smoking-cessation study. Twenty-seven smoking-related, psycho-social, and organizational variables were assessed in order to study the extra variation introduced by intraclass correlations (ICCs) among observations within units of assignment. ICCs were generally small and could be reduced further with adjustments to demographic and individual-level covariates. The study suggests that incorporating this information in the planning of worksite studies can improve sample size calculations.
Mark G. Wilson David M. DeJoy Cynthia M. Jorgensen Christy J. Crump	Health Promotion Programs in Small Worksites: Results of a National Survey A random sample of 2680 worksites with 15-99 employees responded to a survey regarding the prevalence of workplace health promotion programming, policies, and health insurance. Approximately 25% of those sampled offer health promotion programs, and the majority of those sampled offered health promotive policies and health insurance. The percentages of health promotion policies and insurance offered were at slightly lower rates than those offered by employers with larger work forces.
Abstracts	Six abstracts are featured from a variety of publications.
DataBase: Research and Evaluation Results	Four new studies are critiqued and are added to the DataBase chart.