Workplace Health Promotion

Health promotion programme as defined above continues to be a necessary novel in Poland. Thus, it is necessary to ensure all necessary conditions enhancing practical implementation of this approach. Much effort has been undertaken at NCWHP to create such conditions. Here are some examples of most important NCWHP activities in that respect:

1. Promulgating the concept of health promotion at workplace and bringing the advantages which may result from it to the awareness of the occupational health professionals (physicians and nurses), people responsible for work safety, employer associations, and managers of thriving companies. Preparing a package of information on health promotion and circulating it among 8000 major Polish companies may be quoted here as a good example of those ac6tivities.

2. Animating organisational structures for health promotion at workplace. What we mean here in the first place is a network of regional health promotion leaders. The leaders (employees of the Regional Occupational Medicine Centres and of the Sanitary Epidemiological Stations) are expected to help local companies in the implementation of health promotion programmes.

3. Systematic training of workplace health promotion organisers, helping them to become motivated for such actions and preparing suitable educational equipment. Current workshops are designed mainly for the regional leaders (200 people have been already trained for that post), physicians and nurses specialising in the occupational medicine, students of the Postgraduate School of Public Health run by The Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, and for representatives of individual commercial companies interested in the implementation of their of health promotion programmes .

Besides, a consulting point is run within the Centre to offer "on line" aid to people and companies taking steps intended to preserve good health for the employees.

4. Preparing educational and advertising materials for employers, managers and employees. Up to now, NCWHP has published 8 handbooks for the organisers of health promotion programmes to be implemented at the company level. Local leaders were supplied with a package of informative and advertising materials (such as leaflets and posters).

5. Conducting research and preparing analyses required to provide scientific principles of health promotion at workplace in Poland and collecting and promulgating relevant know-how. For example NCWHP has been studying systematically the health related behaviours and attitudes of the Polish society (three books have been published already). The Centre also supervises, studies and provides consultation services for pilot health promotion programmes at several companies. Besides, the level of interest and activity of commercial companies in employee health promotion has been also continuously analysed. The 2000 data show that 54 per cent of Polish companies employing over 100 workers have implemented at least some elements of health promotion programmes. Those elements included primarily some extra medical services and activities to improve the functional and aesthetic aspects of the social facilities.

Not so intense interest of Polish companies in implementation of comprehensive health promotion programmes for their employees results primarily from their weak and variable financial conditions, and from the fact that the managers fail to think of health promotion strategically as a method of enhancing company?s future development. Besides, there are no regulations (such as e.g. reduced insurance rates) which would stimulate companies to undertake health promotion activities.

In order to present examples of "good practice" and share experience The First National Conference of Health Promotion for 150 stakeholders was held in Szczyrk, in April, 2000.

The Centre is also constantly monitoring and analysing European Projects and activities of ENWHP and WHO.