Participating Organizations in Massachusetts Working on Wellness (WoW): Who Are They? What Wellness Programs Have They Put in Place?

Introduction: Most worksite wellness programs are offered by larger employers and accessed by healthier, more educated workers. Massachusetts WoW program is specifically designed to provide guidance in developing wellness programs, with a focus on smaller employers. We examined characteristics of participating organizations and their wellness policies/activity to evaluate the program outreach and delivery. Methods: Organizational and workforce characteristics were collected through an enrollment application. An \u27environmental scan\u27 characterized baseline health-related policies and programs. Wellness intervention activities planned by employers were also collected. Results: The 205 participating organizations are predominantly non-profit (61%) and highly represented by the healthcare and social assistance sector (33%). As a priority of WoW, about one-half of participating organizations have 200 or fewer employees and two-thirds have low-wage workers. At baseline, about half of participating organizations offered no formal wellness program and few policy/environmental supports to encourage wellness activities. The pooled workforce is 63% women, 61% non-Hispanic Whites, and 60% hourly wage workers. About one-quarter have only a high school education/ GED or less, and 17% work evening, night or rotating shifts. WoW has assisted employers to establish program goals, which were predominantly to improve nutrition, increase leisure-time physical activity, and reduce stress. Discussion and Conclusions: The WoW program has successfully reached and delivered services to organizations that previously had no formal wellness program and few wellness policies or supportive environments. In particular, this program has reached a large number of small and moderate-size employer organizations, and a substantial number of low-wage, non-college-educated, and racial/ethnic minority workers