Impact of workplace sociocultural attributes on participation in health assessments.

Abstract

To investigate the impact of sociocultural workplace attributes on participation in employer sponsored health assessments. Medical center employees were encouraged to participate in free, voluntary, and confidential biometric screening and on-line health risk appraisal. A job satisfaction database, aggregated by job type and work area, was used to identify workplace sociocultural attributes correlated with participation. : Thirty-seven percent of the population engaged in the health assessments; however, participation varied widely by work area (10% to 83%) and by job type (17% to 56%). Participation was significantly correlated with selected aspects of job satisfaction. Overall participation rates in employee population health assessments can disguise large variation in employee engagement. This variation is associated with work sociocultural characteristics. Attention to these attributes may be essential to improving involvement in employer sponsored health promotion.