CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Assessment of Health Risks with Feedback to Change Employees' Health

This intervention includes:
• An assessment of personal health habits and risk factors (that may be used in combination with biomedical measurements of physiologic health)
• A quantitative estimation or qualitative assessment of future risk of death and other adverse health outcomes
• Provision of feedback in the form of educational messages and counseling that describes how changing one or more behavioral risk factors might change the risk of disease or death

Worksite interventions may use an assessment of health risks with feedback (AHRF) alone or as part of a broader worksite health promotion program that includes health education and other health promotion components offered as follow-up to the assessment.

There is strong evidence that the use of assessments of health risks with feedback, combined with health education programs, improves outcomes regarding tobacco use, dietary fat intake, blood pressure, cholesterol, and number of days lost due to illness or disability.

Assessment Of Health Risks With Feedback:
The Community Preventive Services Task Force finds insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of assessments of health risks with feedback when implemented alone in achieving improvements in one or more health behaviors and conditions among participating workers. Evidence is considered insufficient because of inconsistent effects and concerns about the lack of controlled studies.

Assessment Of Health Risks With Feedback Plus Health Education With Or Without Other Interventions:
The Task Force recommends the use of assessments of health risks with feedback when combined with health education programs, with or without additional interventions, on the basis of strong evidence of effectiveness in improving one or more health behaviors or conditions in populations of workers. Additionally, the Task Force recommends the use of assessments of health risks with feedback when combined with health education programs to improve the following outcomes among participants:
• Tobacco use (strong evidence of effectiveness)
• Excessive alcohol use (sufficient evidence of effectiveness)
• Seat belt use (sufficient evidence of effectiveness)
• Dietary fat intake (strong evidence of effectiveness)
• Blood pressure (strong evidence of effectiveness)
• Cholesterol (strong evidence of effectiveness)
• Number of days lost from work due to illness or disability (strong evidence of effectiveness)
• Healthcare services use (sufficient evidence of effectiveness)
• Summary health risk estimates (sufficient evidence of effectiveness)
The Task Force finds insufficient evidence for
• Body composition
• Consumption of fruit and vegetables
• Fitness