BUPA: Take the hassle out of employee health promotion
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Wednesday, 01, Aug 2007 12:00
BUPA today announces the launch of a free health assessment tool which will give employers of all shapes and sizes the opportunity to help make ‘healthy working’ the norm rather than a distant nirvana.
BUPA Positive Health will provide free online health assessments, together with information and advice on work-related and general health issues to all new and renewing corporate health scheme customers from September 2007.
The service will give employees confidential 24/7 online access – at home or work – to a series of health assessments focusing on the four areas of health & wellbeing that are proven to impact on performance at work – namely nutrition, fitness, sleep and stress[1].
Benefits to the employer include regular reports to help the organisation track trends in the health of its staff and develop meaningful prevention programmes, ultimately improving its performance.
The technology behind the service is provided by health & wellbeing consultancy vielife.
Steve Flanagan, commercial director, BUPA UK Health Insurance, said: “According to recent research[2] from Investors in People, a quarter (24 percent) of employers said their organisation did not take action to help improve employee health and wellbeing because they simply didn’t understand how best to help, whilst a further 17 percent said it would be too expensive.
“The introduction of BUPA Positive Health will help companies combat these problems. The initiative is both straightforward to implement and accessible. What’s more, by promoting the wellbeing of staff, companies will be able to manage their healthcare costs and risks proactively.”
For further information, go to www.bupa.co.uk/positivehealth
About BUPA:
BUPA is the UK market leader in health and care with a strong international presence. Established in 1947, it has over 8 million customers in 190 countries and more than 40,000 employees. Its main interests are health insurance, care homes for older people and young disabled, health assessments, workplace health and childcare services. BUPA Travel offers a bespoke travel insurance service. Sanitas in Spain, HBA in Australia, IHI in Denmark and AMEDEX in the US are all part of the BUPA Group which also has centres in Hong-Kong, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. BUPA is a company limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. As a result, it can focus on its customers, helping them to live longer, healthier lives and can reinvest all of its profits to do this – this is the dividend that BUPA provides.
About vielife:
vielife was founded in 1989 in France by physicians who improved
the performance of elite athletes and CEOs by focusing on
their lifestyle. The consultancy grew by researching the links between lifestyle factors (such as sleep) and individual and organisational performance. In 1998, vielife launched Europe’s first comprehensive Online Health Management portal (Rhone Poulenc – AgroPharma in France). Since then, vielife has expanded its client and partner base nationally and internationally and now operates with large employer and health plans in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the United States of America.
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[1] Source: Corporate health and wellbeing management: A compendium of research evidence (2007).
[2] Source: IPSOS MORI was commissioned by Investors in People to carry out a nationally representative quota sample of 897 working adults (excluding the self employed), face to face across the UK between 8 February - 22 March 2007. 683 respondents were defined as ‘employees’.