Health Risk Assessments (HRAs): Using Results to Get Results

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

In the early months of 2016, Henrico County invited permanent general government and schools’ employees to participate in a personal health risk assessment (HRA). This wellness initiative included both an on-site biometric screening and an on-line personal health assessment. Results presented in the aggregate report aided the county in better understanding the collective health risks of the employee population – thus allowing Henrico County to incorporate important and necessary interventions that effectively addressed unhealthy behaviors in the workforce. To verify the effectiveness of employee wellness programs offered in response to the 2016 aggregate report, employees were again invited to participate in the same HRA process in 2017, which included on-site biometric screenings and on-line personal health assessments. The 2017 aggregate report showed positive changes in employees’ lifestyle behaviors. The result was a decrease in biological age for the collective population, indicating the employee population was functioning well, in relation to their calendar/chronological age. In addition, the 2017 aggregate report showed a decrease in the average body mass index, a decrease in the percentage of employee participants with hypertension and increases in the percentage of employees with normal cholesterol levels and total hours of sleep acquired per night.