Barriers to employee participation in wellness/health promotion programming

A major goal when conducting worksite health promotion activities is to reach a high percentage of employees. Participation rates vary, especially between blue and white-collar workers. This study investigated perceived barriers to participation in both participants and non-participants, as identified by Support, Professional and Auxiliary Service employees (which include blue and white-collar) at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie Indiana. A questionnaire was sent through interoffice mail to a random sample of employees. It included five barrier categories: perceived physical barriers, lack of perceived self-efficacy, perceived psychological barriers, convenience factors and presence of social support. The categories were subjected to an F test and results in 3 of the 5 supported the research hypothesis that there would be a significant difference in the perceived participation barrier scores. For four of the five barrier categories the mean value was highest for Professional Service employees.Fisher Institute for Wellness and GerontologyThesis (M.S.