A web-based nutrition program reduces health care costs in employees with cardiac risk factors: Before and after cost analysis

Journal of Medical Internet Research

Volumn 11, Issue 4, 2009, Pages

  Sacks, Naomi ^a   Cabral, Howard ^a   Kazis, Lewis E ^a   Jarrett, Kelli M ^a   Vetter, Delia ^b   Richmond, Russell ^c   Moore, Thomas J ^d  

^a BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH   (United States)

^b GNSS Technology for Rail Transportation   (United States)

^c Verisk Health Inc   (United States)

^d BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE   (United States)

Author keywords

Costs and cost analysis; Disease management; Employer health costs; Health promotion; Wellness programs

Indexed keywords

ADULT; AGED; ARTICLE; CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE; COST; DIABETES MELLITUS; ECONOMICS; FEMALE; HEALTH CARE DELIVERY; HEART DISEASE; HUMAN; HYPERLIPIDEMIA; HYPERTENSION; INTERNET; MALE; METHODOLOGY; OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE; ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; PATIENT EDUCATION; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; RISK FACTOR; SPOUSE; UNITED STATES;

ADULT; AGED; BOSTON; CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES; COSTS AND COST ANALYSIS; DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE; DIABETES MELLITUS; FEMALE; HEART DISEASES; HUMANS; HYPERLIPIDEMIAS; HYPERTENSION; INTERNET; MALE; OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES; PATIENT EDUCATION AS TOPIC; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; RISK FACTORS; SPOUSES;

EID: 73349125451     PISSN: None     EISSN: 14388871     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2196/jmir.1263     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust. Employer Health Benefits: 2008 Annual Survey. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; 2008. URL: http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/7790.pdf [accessed 2009-05-05] [WebCite Cache ID 5gXrWjDl3]
2. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2009. Trends in Health Care Costs and Spending. URL: http://www.kff.org/insurance/upload/7692-02.pdf [accessed 2009-05-05] [WebCite Cache ID 5gXrkt8a1]
3. Okie S. The employer as health coach. N Engl J Med 2007 Oct 11;357(15):1465-1469. [Medline: 17928592] [doi:10.1056/NEJMp078152]
4. Mattke S, Seid M, Ma S. Evidence for the effect of disease management: is $1 billion a year a good investment? Am J Manag Care 2007 Dec;13(12):670-676 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 18069910]
5. Goetzel RZ, Ozminkowski RJ. The health and cost benefits of work site health-promotion programs. Annu Rev Public Health 2008;29(1):303-323. [Medline: 18173386] [doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090930]
6. Buller DB, Morrill C, Taren D, Aickin M, Sennott-Miller L, Buller MK, et al. Randomized trial testing the effect of peer education at increasing fruit and vegetable intake. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999 Sep 1;91(17):1491-1500 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 10469751] [doi: 10.1093/jnci/91.17.1491]
7. Byers T, Mullis R, Anderson J, Dusenbury L, Gorsky R, Kimber C, et al. The costs and effects of a nutritional education program following work-site cholesterol screening. Am J Public Health 1995 May;85(5):650-655 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 7733424] [doi: 10.2105/AJPH.85.5.650]
8. Appel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzanek E, Vollmer WM, Svetkey LP, Sacks FM, et al. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. DASH Collaborative Research Group. N Engl J Med 1997 Apr 17;336(16):1117-1124 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 9099655] [doi: 10.1056/NEJM199704173361601]
9. DASH-Sodium Collaborative Research Group, Sacks FM, Svetkey LP, Vollmer WM, Appel LJ, Bray GA, Harsha D, et al. Effects on blood pressure of reduced dietary sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. DASH-Sodium Collaborative Research Group. N Engl J Med 2001 Jan 4;344(1):3-10 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 11136953]
10. Lien LF, Brown AJ, Ard JD, Loria C, Erlinger TP, Feldstein AC, et al. Effects of PREMIER lifestyle modifications on participants with and without the metabolic syndrome. Hypertension 2007 Oct;50(4):609-616 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 17698724] [doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.107.089458]
11. Moore TJ, Alsabeeh N, Apovian CM, Murphy MC, Coffman GA, Cullum-Dugan D, et al. Weight, blood pressure, and dietary benefits after 12 months of a Web-based Nutrition Education Program (DASH for health): longitudinal observational study. J Med Internet Res 2008;10(4):e52 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 19073541] [doi: 10.2196/jmir.1114]
12. Levitan EB, Wolk A, Mittleman MA. Consistency with the DASH diet and incidence of heart failure. Arch Intern Med 2009 May 11;169(9):851-857. [Medline: 19433696] [doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.56]
13. Gautam S, Singh S. 2Hawykeye, Inc.. 2008. Predicting Overall and Impactable Future Costs with the D2Hawkeye Risk Modelling System. URL: http://www.d2hawkeye.com/Web%20files/D2-Risk-Models-White-Paper.pdf [accessed 2009-05-05] [WebCite Cache ID 5gXsHXxAd]
14. D'Agostino RB. Propensity score methods for bias reduction in the comparison of a treatment to a non-randomized control group. Stat Med 1998 Oct 15;17(19):2265-2281. [Medline: 9802183] [doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0258(19981015) 17:19<2265::AID-SIM918>3.0.CO;2-B]
15. Zhao Y, Ash AS, Haughton J, McMillan B. Identifying Future High Cost Cases Through Predictive Modeling. Dis Manage Health Outcomes 2003;11(6):389-397. [doi: 10.2165/00115677-200311060-00005]
16. Shwartz M, Ash A, Pekoz E. Risk adjustment and risk-adjusted provider profiles. Int J Health Care Technol Manage 2006;7(1/2):15-42. [doi: 10.1504/IJHTM.2006.007871]
17. Yaisawarng S, Burgess JF. Performance-based budgeting in the public sector: an illustration from the VA health care system. Health Econ 2006 Mar;15(3):295-310. [Medline: 16331724] [doi: 10.1002/hec.1060]
18. Montez-Rath M, Christiansen CL, Ettner SL, Loveland S, Rosen AK. Performance of statistical models to predict mental health and substance abuse cost. BMC Med Res Methodol 2006;6(1):53 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 17067394] [doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-6-53]
19. Micco N, Gold B, Buzzell P, Leonard H, Pintauro S, Harvey-Berino J. Minimal in-person support as an adjunct to internet obesity treatment. Ann Behav Med 2007 Feb;33(1):49-56. [Medline: 17291170] [doi: 10.1207/s15324796abm3301-6]
20. Tate DF, Jackvony EH, Wing RR. Effects of Internet behavioral counseling on weight loss in adults at risk for type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial. JAMA 2003 Apr 9;289(14):1833-1836 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 12684363] [doi: 10.1001/jama.289.14.1833]
21. Tate DF, Jackvony EH, Wing RR. A randomized trial comparing human e-mail counseling, computer-automated tailored counseling, and no counseling in an Internet weight loss program. Arch Intern Med 2006;166(15):1620-1625 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 16908795] [doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.15.1620]
22. Williamson DA, Martin PD, White MA, Newton R, Walden H, York-Crowe E, et al. Efficacy of an internet-based behavioral weight loss program for overweight adolescent African-American girls. Eat Weight Disord 2005 Sep;10(3):193-203. [Medline: 16277142]
23. Musich SA, Adams L, Edington DW. Effectiveness of health promotion programs in moderating medical costs in the USA. Health Promot Int 2000;15(1):5-15. [doi: 10.1093/heapro/15.1.5]
24. Ozminkowski RJ, Goetzel RZ, Wang F, Gibson TB, Shechter D, Musich S, et al. The savings gained from participation in health promotion programs for Medicare beneficiaries. J Occup Environ Med 2006 Nov;48(11):1125-1132. [Medline: 17099448] [doi: 10.1097/01.jom.0000240709.01860.8a]
25. Ozminkowski RJ, Ling D, Goetzel RZ, Bruno JA, Rutter KR, Isaac F, et al. Long-term impact of Johnson & Johnson's Health & Wellness Program on health care utilization and expenditures. J Occup Environ Med 2002 Jan;44(1):21-29. [Medline: 11802462] [doi: 10.1097/00043764-200201000-00005]
26. Pelletier KR. A review and analysis of the clinical and cost-effectiveness studies of comprehensive health promotion and disease management programs at the worksite: update VI 2000-2004. J Occup Environ Med 2005 Oct;47(10):1051-1058. [Medline: 16217246] [doi: 10.1097/01.jom.0000174303. 85442.bf]
27. Herman CW, Musich S, Lu C, Sill S, Young JM, Edington DW. Effectiveness of an incentive-based online physical activity intervention on employee health status. J Occup Environ Med 2006 Sep;48(9):889-895. [Medline: 16966955] [doi: 10.1097/01.jom.0000232526.27103.71]
28. McCarty CA, Scheuer D. Lessons learned from employee fitness programs at the Marshfield Clinic. WMJ 2005 Jul;104(5):61-65. [Medline: 16138518]
29. Stein AD, Shakour SK, Zuidema RA. Financial incentives, participation in employer-sponsored health promotion, and changes in employee health and productivity: HealthPlus Health Quotient Program. J Occup Environ Med 2000 Dec;42(12):1148-1155. [Medline: 11125677] [doi: 10.1097/00043764-200012000- 00005]
30. Voit S. Work-site health and fitness programs: Impact on the employee and employer. Work 2001;16(3):273-286. [Medline: 12441457]
31. Young JM. Promoting health at the workplace: challenges of prevention, productivity, and program implementation. N C Med J 2006;67(6):417-424. [Medline: 17393702]
32. Aldana SG. Financial impact of health promotion programs: a comprehensive review of the literature. Am J Health Promot 2001;15(5):296-320. [Medline: 11502012]
33. Cook RF, Billings DW, Hersch RK, Back AS, Hendrickson A. A field test of a web-based workplace health promotion program to improve dietary practices, reduce stress, and increase physical activity: randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res 2007;9(2):e17 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 17581811] [doi: 10.2196/jmir.9.2.e17]
34. Norman GJ, Zabinski MF, Adams MA, Rosenberg DE, Yaroch AL, Atienza AA. A review of eHealth interventions for physical activity and dietary behavior change. Am J Prev Med 2007 Oct;33(4):336-345 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 17888860] [doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2007.05.007]
35. Sternfeld B, Block C, Quesenberry CP, Block TJ, Husson G, Norris JC, et al. Improving diet and physical activity with ALIVE: a worksite randomized trial. Am J Prev Med 2009 Jun;36(6):475-483. [Medline: 19460655] [doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.036]
36. Block G, Sternfeld B, Block CH, Block TJ, Norris J, Hopkins D, et al. Development of Alive! (A Lifestyle Intervention Via Email), and its effect on health-related quality of life, presenteeism, and other behavioral outcomes: randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res 2008;10(4):e43 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 19019818] [doi: 10.2196/jmir.1112]
37. Hsu J, Price M, Huang J, Brand R, Fung V, Hui R, et al. Unintended consequences of caps on Medicare drug benefits. N Engl J Med 2006 Jun 1;354(22):2349-2359 [FREE Full text] [Medline: 16738271] [doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa054436]
38. Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. Elements of State Health Reform: Prevention and Wellness as Covered Benefits. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation; 2007. URL: url:http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health-cast/uploaded-files/060707-kff-nga- transcript.pdf [accessed 2009-05-05] [WebCite Cache ID 5gXsTEBrm]
39. Newhouse JP. Consumer-directed health plans and the RAND Health Insurance Experiment. Health Aff (Millwood) 2004;23(6):107-113. [Medline: 15584103] [doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.23.6.107]
40. Nicholson S, Pauly MV, Polsky D, Baase CM, Billotti GM, Ozminkowski RJ, et al. How to present the business case for healthcare quality to employers. Appl Health Econ Health Policy 2005;4(4):209-218. [Medline: 16466272] [doi: 10.2165/00148365-200504040-00003]