A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reveals that companies who improve their “culture of health” see improvements in their employee’s health and see positive effects on healthcare utilization.

The study used the Centers for Disease Control’s Worksite Health ScoreCard and analyzed the changes in the scorecard for 21 large U.S. employers between 2013 and 2015. The scorecard measures internal culture of health (COH-INT) which focuses on improving the health of workers. It also measures the external culture of health (COH-EXT) which focuses on improving the health of surrounding communities. The analysis included data on health risks and healthcare resource use for 64,000 employees.

Companies who recorded rising COH-INT scores saw employees who initially had health risk factors become less likely to be at risk two years later – recording reductions in obesity, poor diet and tobacco use. For employees who weren’t initially at risk, increasing COH-INT scores were associated with lower rates of most risk factors. Companies with rising COH-INT scores also had slower growth in healthcare costs, reduced inpatient, outpatient and emergency department visits, and fewer filled drug prescriptions.

Improvements in COH-EXT scores were associated with lesser reductions in health risks but for unknown reasons increases in COH-INT scores were associated with higher stress levels, particularly for employees who initially had high stress.

The study adds to evidence that suggests building a culture of health can improve employee health and reduce healthcare costs. Authors of the study suggest that policymakers and public health practitioners who are looking to improve community health should also encourage employers to create health workplaces.

Read more from ACOEM.