Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings
| Title: | Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings |
| Author: |
Baicker, Katherine; Cutler, David M.; Song, Zirui
Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors. |
| Citation: | Baicker, Katherine, David Cutler, and Zirui Song. 2010. Workplace wellness programs can generate savings. Health Affairs 29(2): 304-311. |
| Full Text & Related Files: |
Workplace Wellness Programs.pdf (79.98Kb; PDF) 
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| Abstract: | With health care expenditures soaring, there is increasing interest in workplace-based disease prevention and health promotion as a means of improving health while lowering costs. We conduct a critical meta-analysis of the literature on costs and savings associated such programs, focusing on studies with particularly rigorous methods and examining effects on health care costs and absenteeism. We find that medical costs fall about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs, and absentee day costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent. This average return on investment suggests that the wider adoption of such programs could prove beneficial for budgets and productivity as well as health outcomes. |
| Published Version: | doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0626 |
| Terms of Use: | This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#OAP |
| Citable link to this page: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:5345879 |
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Peer reviewed scholarly articles from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University
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