Short-term effects of a hospital-based, comprehensive employee wellness program on cardiovascular risk factors

The purpose of this study was to examine the success of a hospital-based, employee wellness program based on the structure of its multi-component intervention program and ethnic stratification. The twelve-week, cardiovascular risk reduction program addressed nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation, disease prevention and stress management. The cardiovascular risk factors assessed included age, gender, blood pressure, weight, smoking, fasting glucose, cholesterol levels, and Framingham Risk Level. Subjects were 812 volunteer hospital employees made up of 505 Caucasians, 173 African-Americans, and 53 Hispanics. The pre-test to post-test changes in risk factor values for those at high risk for disease according to national guidelines all significantly decreased (p < 0.05). A significant overall decrease in the Framingham Risk Level occurred in these subjects. Results within the ethnic groups suggested that not all groups responded to the program in the same fashion or to the same degree. Overall, this multi-component intervention program provided very favorable results in only twelve weeks.