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Community Health

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, respiratory diseases and mental illness, are a threat to individuals, communities, businesses and economic development. Workplace health promotion programs are an effective means of promoting workforce health and preventing NCDs, but many health-related choices occur in the community, influenced by social, economic, and environmental factors (e.g., education, housing, transportation). However, most employers fail to address the environmental and social drivers of workforce health at the community level, resulting in a major barrier to the effectiveness of workforce health initiatives.

This page presents the business case for linking workforce and community health, and strategies employers and community groups can use for strategic cross-sector collaboration.

The Report

The report “Beyond the Four Walls: Why Community is Critical to Workforce Health” calls for increased cross-sector collaboration to address community-level drivers of workforce health. It demonstrates the relationship between workforce and community health and reveals that certain industries are more likely to be concentrated in counties with poor health, and outlines strategies these industries can use to improve community and workforce health. The report also includes guidelines to implement effective cross-sector partnerships and overcome common barriers faced by employers and community groups.

Case studies featured in the report and below demonstrate how:
  1. Employers are leveraging three strategies to make quality investments in community health, which benefit the business and population health
  2. Community groups are leveraging these three strategies to engage businesses in local health promotion
Download the Report

Case Studies

Case Studies are listed below with the estimated date of publication of the online document.

Employer Case Studies:
Community Organization Case Studies:

Call to Action

  1. Employers Should Extend Their Corporate Health Strategies to the Community, Using Local Data to Drive Decision Making
  2. Communities Should Engage Employers Beyond the Workplace to Improve Population Health
  3. Employers Should Invest in Implementation Science by Partnering with Research Institutions to Evaluate the Impact of Investments in Community Health

Report Commentary

The Business Case for a Healthier Community

LinkedIn Influencer Piece by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey: The Business Case for a Healthier Community

Read article here.

Infographic

Infographic

Workforce & Community Health in Numbers

The Vitality Institute

This infographic presents facts about the threat of NCDs to long-term business profitability, and demonstrates the business case for why employers should extend their workforce health initiatives beyond the workplace.

DOWNLOAD

Blogs

View our recent blog posts on community health.

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