Thesis (M.A. in interior design)--Washington State University, December 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jan. 28, 2010). "Department of Interior Design." Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-69).

Project (M.S. Ed.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-139). Also available via the Internet.

With rapidly rising health care expenditures, health care cost containment has become a major issue facing this nation. A phenomenal growth in worksite health promotion has occurred with the recognition that these programs have the potential to reduce these costs. However, to be effective as a cost containment strategy, health promotion programs must successfully attract participants, particularly those whose health is most at-risk. Due to limited research on issues of participation, there is a need to investigate the characteristics of individuals attracted to worksite health promotion programs and the factors that influence their participation. The purpose of this study was to explore the characterization of participants and nonparticipants and to examine the factors that influence participation in health promotion programs. A self-selected participant group (n=173) was compared to a nonparticipant group (n =146) with respect to sociodemographic characteristics, health care costs, health status, and health risk behaviors. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the employer's records and from a questionnaire designed to address specific components of the program. Results indicated that management/administrative staff were more likely to participate in the health promotion program than were classified or faculty staff. For the period of the survey, participants were also more likely to be nonsmokers and were less likely to be injured on-the-job during one of the survey years. The workers' compensation claims costs for nonparticipants were significantly higher in one survey year and over the two-year average period considered. However, the nonparticipant claims were strongly influenced by one costly claim in 1988. The two groups did not differ when the absenteeism data from the employer's records were analyzed. In addition, it was found that subjects with the highest levels of participation also had the fewest number of children living in the household. Time constraints as a result of job schedule, work/activity load, and meeting times of the activities were the most important factors limiting participation in the program. Further research is needed to assess program effectiveness and program impact upon employee health and health care costs. The analysis should be conducted over a longer period of time and comparisons should be made within as well as between groups. / Graduation date: 1992

This study has presented findings on the correlations of the attitudes of the health promotion program provider and the program decision-maker in measuring the success of their worksite health promotion programs. The purpose of this study was to answer the following three questions: 1) Do company decision-makers and primary program providers agree upon which evaluation methods are currently being used in their worksite health promotion program? 2) Do the company decision-makers and primary program providers rank the top five evaluation criteria in the same order of importance? and 3) In rank order, what are the top five preferred evaluation criteria of the program provider? Results indicate a strong correlation of agreement for questions 1 and 2 (0.937 and 0.951 respectively). The data suggests that primary health promotion program providers and company decision-makers share strong agreement on which evaluation criteria should measure program success. Justification of worksite health promotion requires that the program provider be accountable for the criteria on which the decision-maker bases the programs' success. / Fisher Institute for Wellness

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1997. / Bibliography: leaves [122-125].

Thesis (M Ed (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study conducted an experiment with 139 staff volunteers from a suburban school district (K-12) who participated in an eight-week program of exercise, nutritional practices, and stress control measures. All participants were pretested and posttested for mental well-being and physical fitness. Two treatment groups set goals, wrote contracts, and met weekly to hear speakers and share experiences, and made weekly reports to a director of the project. One treatment group was provided with leaders who organized supporting activities; the other treatment group was divided into support groups without leaders. A third group was composed of individuals who did not participate in the formal program but were present in the schools where general wellness activities may have affected their health-related activities. The program produced significant changes in mental and physical health, whereas the informal influences on the third group produced no significant change in physical fitness but did, to a lesser degree, produce a significant change in the mental health of its members. Significant relationships were found between the level of health-related behavior sustained in the program and changes in mental and physical health; physical health levels and improvement were not found to be related to mental health levels or improvement. The levels of support produced significant results only when comparing treatment groups with the third group (that did not participate in the formal program); leader-led groups did not produce significantly different results from the leaderless groups. The description of the wellness program and the results of its use provide a model for school administrators who wish to improve the health and productivity of their staff. It also represents a method of introducing wellness into the school curriculum. Staff members become models for wellness and enthusiasts for the benefits of such programs.

Thesis (MFamMed)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / Background: Coronary heart disease is a global public health problem. Formerly considered rare in sub-Saharan Africa, evidence has shown that urbanization and the adoption of more affluent and sedentary lifestyle in subpopulations of this region, may result in increased prevalence. One such subpopulation is workers in the Nigerian petroleum industry and this study examines their risk factors for coronary heart disease. In addition the study compares the risk profile of onshore and offshore workers. Method: This is a descriptive cross sectional study undertaken to determine the level of risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease in two groups of male workers of the petroleum industry in Nigeria; the onshore and the offshore workers. Four hundred workers were randomnly selected and invited to participate, with a desired sample size of 234. The data was collected by using an electronic questionnaire to explore life style factors like exercise, diet, and smoking that predispose to this disease. Anthropometric indices included body mass index, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio. Biochemical tests included lipid profile and fasting blood glucose. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure was also recorded. The prevalence of known hypertension and diabetes as well as the metabolic syndrome were determined. The questionnaire data was analysed and compared with the chi-square test using the software, Epi-info 2008 Windows Version 3.5.1 and the means of the continuous variables were determined and compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: 121 onshore and 110 offshore workers participated. Overall the cardiovascular risk profile of onshore versus offshore workers in the oil industry was worse. Onshore workers had increased waist circumference,; though there was no significant difference in the Waist-Hip Ratio, increased rates of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and hypertension and were less physically active. Dietary differences were less marked, but more beef and chicken were consumed by onshore while more fish was consumed by offshore workers. Conversely the offshore workers had a higher BMI and lower levels of protective HDL. Overall, in this population, the BMI and the umber of diabetics were higher and the HDL lower than the country figures. Conclusion The obesity profile of the two groups was comparable to that of the Western nations and could become worse. This also reflects the fact that within Nigeria there are sub-populations with cardio-metabolic profiles that depart significantly from the national average. This is most probably due to dietary factors and poor exercise habits and calls for intervention through health promotional activities / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nie beskikbaar

This study was to determine if the importance assigned by health educators (judges) to components of corporate health promotion programs is the same as or different from program components most frequently offered by corporations for employees. This involved establishing a list of program components that judges felt were important for wellness programs and comparing this list with programs actually existing in polled corporations. A literature review was used to establish an initial list of program components. Thirty-eight judges returned questionnaires incorporating the list. A Spearman's rho and scattergram were used to test for correlations between judges' opinions and corporate practices. The report concludes that no correlation exists but that there is agreement among the judges polled that corporations should promote employee wellness programs.

This study was concerned with investigating the perceptions of the conditions of the physical work environment on the psychological and physical wellbeing of employees at Nedbank. This was an important study to carry out due to the fact that people are increasingly spending time indoors more especially in the offices in which they work. Thus it becomes important to investigate the effects that the physical work environment in which people work has on their psychological and physical wellbeing. The buildings investigated in this study were green buildings, as they were concerned with limiting the negative impact of the physical work environment on the wellbeing of employees and the environment. The sample utilised in this study consisted of three hundred and forty nine (n=349) participants of Nedbank from two recently refurbished buildings known as Phase II and Ridgeside, the sampling technique utilised in order to obtain this sample was purposive sampling. The statistical analysis which were utilised was the multiple regression analysis which was used in order to find out which building conditions influenced psychological and physical wellbeing, whilst a partial correlation analyses was performed to investigate the moderating effect of time spent in building. From these analyses it was found that perceptions of the conditions of the physical work environment had a greater influence on the physical wellbeing of employees. Perceptions of the conditions of the physical work environment were found to have a lesser influence on the psychological wellbeing of employees at Nedbank. Results also revealed that time spent in building was not a moderator of the relationships between the perceptions of the conditions of the physical work environment with psychological and physical wellbeing respectively.