Strategies Used by a Large Midwestern University to Build Trust and
Author Names, Degree, Affiliation • Author Name, Degrees, Affiliation – Helvetica
Encourage Participation
in
a
Survey
of
Workplace
Health
&
Wellness
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis Indiana
Tess D. Weathers, MPH1• Jennifer M. Alyea, MPH2 • Lisa K. Staten, PhD1 • Gregory K. Steele, DrPH, MPH2
1Department
Strategies
Abstract
Organization: Indiana University (IU) is one of the largest employers in
Indiana, with more than 17,000 full-time employees on 8 campuses. It is a
major public research institution, grounded in the liberal arts and
sciences, and a world leader in professional, medical, and technological
education.
Program: The IU Workplace Health and Wellness Survey of full-time IU
employees was conducted in 2013 to establish baseline measures of
workplace health and support. Sensitive to employee concerns about
confidentiality and ties to insurance premiums, the peer-led research
team implemented a voluntary, anonymous, and transparent survey
strategy that could be repeated over time to gauge the impact of a
University-wide wellness initiative.
Evaluation Plan: Health measures and perceptions of workplace supports
were captured using 67 quantitative and qualitative questions. The survey
was considered to be successful if the response rate was ≥ 30% and
representative of the employee population by gender, race/ethnicity, and
job type.
Results: A total of 32% of IU’s full-time employees responded to the
survey (n = 5,523), with similar response rates across all 8 campuses (31%44%). Organizational impact is evidenced through intra- and inter-campus
wellness committees, who are utilizing results to foster a culture of health,
expand access to wellness programs, and develop innovative approaches
to priority issues.
Sensitive to employee concerns resulting from past experience, this peer-led
research team was intentional in employing strategies to address these
concerns, build trust, and encourage participation. We engaged our coworkers to help paint a true picture of workplace health and wellness at
Indiana University.
Framing the
Purpose
• Focus on improving health, not reducing healthcare costs.
• Focus on our community of employees, not on individuals.
Results
Results
 32% of IU’s full-time employees responded to the 2013 IU Workplace
Health & Wellness Survey (n = 5,523), with similar response rates across
all 8 campuses (31%-44%).
 This survey captured measures of health and perception of workplace
supports for health using 65 quantitative and 2 open-ended qualitative
questions.
 Clear health advantages (e.g., low smoking rate) and challenges (e.g.,
poor mental health) emerged from the results to guide our employee
wellness policies and programs.
 Satisfactory participation rates were observed among both men and women,
faculty and staff, and various racial/ethnic groups.
 The percentage of minority survey responders (12%) was somewhat lower than
the percentage of minority employees (21%).
 Staff participation in the survey was higher than faculty; staff represent 26% of
employees but 35% of survey responders.
 While nearly half of all full-time employees are men (47%), only one-third (32%)
of survey responders were men.
 To ensure representativeness, survey responses were weighted by employee
demographics prior to generating results.
Survey Responders Compared to All Full-Time Employees
Leveraging
Dual Roles
• Autonomous responsibility for survey design and analysis held by team from the
School of Public Health with no ties to university administration or health benefits.
• Survey team has expertise in epidemiology, survey methods, and behavioral health.
• Survey team, as IU employees, had first hand understanding of 2009 backlash.
By Race/Ethnicity
100%
3%
7%
80%
Enhancing
Credibility
• Drew survey questions from established national health surveys, primarily the BRFSS.
• Consulted with experts leading the CDC’s National Healthy Worksite Program and
participated in local trainings for the Marion County “community site”.
• Placed survey in national context of increasing emphasis on workplace health.
By Job Type
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
5%
2%
5%
11%
90%
70%
60%
50%
Promoting
Transparency
• Thorough communications sent to each full-time employee in advance.
• Met with Faculty Council to address concerns; offered same to Staff Council.
• Dedicated e-mail address for all employee questions; responses sent within 1 work
day.
• Website created for project as source for information and results.
Advocating for
Employees
• Peer-led team insisted the survey be anonymous.
• Survey was voluntary and easy, with employees given time to do at work.
• Valued all voices; all 17,000+ employees were invited to participate, not just a
sample.
• Materials pilot-tested with employees to address potential sensitivities.
Evaluation Plan
79%
The survey was considered to be successful if the response rate was > 30% on
each of the 8 campuses and across the university on the whole, and generally
representative of the employee population by gender, race/ethnicity, and job
type.
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
20%
The survey will be repeated at the 2 year interval to gauge progress in our
efforts to improve workplace health and wellness at IU.
0%
Full-Time
Employees
White
Successful implementation of this survey, given the historical context,
marked a fresh start for workplace wellness at Indiana University.
Formation of a new inter-campus Wellness Committee quickly resulted.
These leaders, as well as campus-specific Wellness Committees, are using
survey results to guide organizational & policy changes, as well as improve
awareness and access to evidence-based health programs in the
workplace. Two of the eight campuses have since adjusted their strategic
plans to incorporate employee wellness objectives.
65%
74%
Full-Time
Employees
Survey
Responders
Faculty
By Gender
30%
Impact
26%
88%
40%
Survey Response Rates by IU Campus, 2013
35%
Staff
10%
Background & Program
In 2009, Indiana University asked all full-time employees to complete an
individualized Health Risk Assessment and to declare their smoking status
via personal affidavit. These actions were linked to current and future
employee health insurance contributions. An online petition signed by
nearly 700 employees noted “considerable damage to the morale” and a
need for respect, collegiality, and thoughtfulness. The university responded
by dropping the HRA and changing course. A new department was created
in 2011, Healthy IU, separate from benefits and employment
administration, charged with implementing employee wellness initiatives.
With this backdrop, the research team housed in the School of Public
Health was asked by Healthy IU to develop a survey approach which could
re-engage employees, enabling us to establish baseline measures of
workplace health by which progress toward a healthier IU might be
gauged.
of Social & Behavioral Sciences • 2Department of Epidemiology
Black
Survey
Responders
Hispanic
Other
32%
47%
68%
53%
Full-Time
Employees
Women
Survey
Responders
Men
Acknowledgements
The research team gratefully acknowledges:
• Patty Hollingsworth and the Healthy IU Department for funding this baseline
survey of employee health & wellness and for working diligently to help us
become “the healthiest university in America.”
• Gary Pike, PhD and the team at Information Management & Institutional
Research who assisted us with implementation of the online survey and postsurvey weighting.
Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI I 714 North Senate Ave. I Indianapolis, IN 46202 I www.pbhealth.iupui.edu