WorkHealth Research and Evaluation Project
WorkHealth Research and Evaluation Project
Research team
- Professor Malcolm Sim (Chief Investigator)
- Dr Helen Kelsall
Professor John McNeil - Professor Andrew Tonkin
- Professor Sophia Zoungas
- Dr Roslin Botlero
The WorkHealth program is a State Government initiative, delivered by WorkSafe, which aims to support workplaces in offering programs to promote worker health and wellbeing. It aims to reduce the impact of chronic diseases, in particular type 2 diabetes and heart disease in the community and workplace.
In 2011-2012, Monash University was commissioned by WorkSafe Victoria to evaluate the WorkHealth program to assess its impact at an individual and workplace level.
The WorkHealth Research and Evaluation Project had four components, and was conducted for WorkSafe by Monash University through the Institute of Safety, Compensation and Recovery (ISCRR). The research and evaluation was led by Professor Malcolm Sim as the Director of the Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health (MonCOEH) in collaboration with other areas of the Monash School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and ISCRR.
The four projects were:
- Follow-up Study of WorkHealth check participants
- Analysis of the WorkHealth check data
- Modelling long term impacts
- Process and impact evaluation
Follow up Study of People who had a WorkHealth check
WorkHealth checks are voluntary health checks undertaken in the workplace for which workers receive lifestyle feedback on lifestyle risk factors and may receive advice to visit their doctor if they are assessed as being at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes or heart disease.
The Follow up Study of People who had a WorkHealth check surveyed a sample of participants who consented to being contacted by Monash University to:
- Assess the lifestyle changes, such as eating habits, physical activity that people may have made since their WorkHealth check, and the reasons why some people have made lifestyle changes and others have not
- Investigate whether people saw their doctor for follow up since their WorkHealth check, and whether they had more tests, have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or heart disease, or had further treatment or medicines
- Investigate whether any of these health problems (diabetes or heart disease) have had any effect on work
What did the research involve?
For this study participants were asked to:
- answer a questionnaire
- take measurements of their height, weight, and of their waist and hip circumferences
- give consent for the researchers to access the results of blood tests they have had since their WorkHealth check as well as information from Medicare about any treatments they had that are related to diabetes and/or heart disease
Information about participants' health service use and treatments were collected through Medicare Australia using the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data. The researchers accessed this information from 1st January 2008, and will also at intervals into the future for ten years to 31st December 2021, so they can monitor health services and treatments for diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. This will enable them to have a more accurate view of participants' current and future health. Information about the costs of health services and treatments that is obtained from Medicare may have been used to understand the costs associated with the management of diabetes and heart disease. In order to access participants' Medicare and PBS data they needed information from participants such as their Medicare Card Number.
The researchers also asked for consent to access pathology tests, such as blood tests, that participants may have had since their WorkHealth check that are relevant to diabetes or heart disease only. They did NOT ask for pathology test results that are not relevant to diabetes or heart disease, eg. they did not ask for pregnancy test results or infectious disease test results.
Publication of results
The results of the study are not in a form that could identify individuals or small groups of people. The study’s de-identified overall findings were reported to WorkSafe, and as articles for publication in scientific journals and at relevant conferences and educational forums.
Summary reports can be viewed on the ISCRR website