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Wellness Works is an outreach program coordinated by the Physical Activity and Health Promotion Lab in the Department of Kinesiology at Iowa State University. The sections below provide some highlights about current programming. Click here to learn more about our team and our approach. Click here for links to student opportunities.
Current Programming Efforts
The Wellness Works Team has been working to support area worksites during COVID-19 and have developed a flexible physical activity incentive program that could be effectively implemented in collaboration with current wellness programs or in addition to other initiatives. The program builds on an evidence-based walking program called ‘Walk With Ease’ but
is enhanced with an innovative smartphone app called ‘CARROT’ that helps to remind and motivate employees to be more active. Details are below.
is enhanced with an innovative smartphone app called ‘CARROT’ that helps to remind and motivate employees to be more active. Details are below.
Walk With Ease is a 6-week physical activity and self-management education program. While walking is the central activity, Walk With Ease is a multi-component program that also includes health education, stretching and strengthening exercises, and motivational strategies. The program is proven to improve employees’ overall health and safely make walking a part of their everyday routine.
Our Walk With Ease in the Worksite program encourages happier, healthier employees who are less sedentary, more energetic and more fulfilled. This can:
• Reduce medical and health care costs
• Increase work attendance
• Boost employee morale
• Increase productivity
• Improve job satisfaction
The Arthritis Foundation Walk With Ease program is successful in the worksite because it is a program anyone can do, at any time, regardless of physical fitness level. Walk With Ease can be integrated into your current wellness program or offered independently.
Our Walk With Ease in the Worksite program encourages happier, healthier employees who are less sedentary, more energetic and more fulfilled. This can:
• Reduce medical and health care costs
• Increase work attendance
• Boost employee morale
• Increase productivity
• Improve job satisfaction
The Arthritis Foundation Walk With Ease program is successful in the worksite because it is a program anyone can do, at any time, regardless of physical fitness level. Walk With Ease can be integrated into your current wellness program or offered independently.
CARROT Wellness Mobile AppCARROT has changed the role smart phones play in motivating people to lead more active lives. Essentially, CARROT rewards you financially for walking and meeting personal activity goals!
CARROT’s individualized goals and low-cost rewards give users instant gratification, leading to enthusiastic adoption and maximizing participation by even the most sedentary individuals. |
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Worksite Wellness Support (BSDI)
Our Wellness Works team has established a collaborative education/research partnership with BSDI (www.BSDIweb.com) that enables us to provide employees at local companies with access to the powerful BSDI worksite wellness programming tool along with the Motivation Alliance suite of programs.
The software enables employees within a participating company to set up and monitor health data and track efforts to change lifestyle behaviors. Click here for additional information about how to enroll your company.
Within the course HS 380: Worksite Health Promotion, BSDI Programming is available to students and used for many of the application assignments regarding implementing and tracking components of programming and challenges. Each semester, students get hands-on experience competing in their own worksite wellness challenge by syncing Fitbits to the BSDI platform and completing a two week step challenge as if they were employees at a company. Students also utilize BSDI for health risk screening. Afterwards, students gain experience writing goals and objectives for an intended wellness program based off of the needs assessment that were revealed through the health risk screening.
Clinical Health Coaching
The ISU Kinesiology Department has established an IRB-approved project to enable supplemental health coaching for clinical populations. All student health-coaches have received formal training through a 2 credit practicum course and are supervised by a team of faculty and graduate students. Health coaching is independent of any clinical care but we rely on physician referrals to ensure that we can reach patients that are good candidates for lifestyle programming. Health coaching focuses on promoting physical activity and healthy eating habits and is not related to any clinical treatments. Click here to learn more about the clinical health coaching program and the current student coaches.
Health Coaching Opportunities
The Wellness Works team has been managing an ongoing participatory project called the Health Coach Study that provides opportunities for individuals (and employees at partner companies) to receive health coaching by trained ISU students. Click here for information on past projects.
The team recently completed a new study called the Fitbit Study that provided individuals with the opportunity to wear a Fitbit for 3 months as part of a behavior change program. Participants were trained by the coaches to set their own goals and monitored their progress in becoming more physically active!
Click on the link below to read more about our health coaching applications and any new opportunities.
The team recently completed a new study called the Fitbit Study that provided individuals with the opportunity to wear a Fitbit for 3 months as part of a behavior change program. Participants were trained by the coaches to set their own goals and monitored their progress in becoming more physically active!
Click on the link below to read more about our health coaching applications and any new opportunities.
