Identifying health goals and barriers to support health behaviour change

Introduction: Workplace health programs provide an opportunity to support employees in achieving healthy behaviours. To maximise voluntary employee participation, health programs should align with employee preferences and reduce perceived barriers to health improvements. This study aimed to understand prevalent employee health goals and barriers to inform the development of programs that will support health behaviour change. Methods: Four hundred and fifty-one employees from an Australian transport company completed an organisational health survey. To identify goals, employees were asked: ‘What, if anything, would you like to do in the next year to improve or maintain your health?’ Employees were presented with a list of eight options. To identify barriers employees were asked to agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘I think the following things are stopping me from improving my health’. Employees were presented with a list of seven options. Employees were able to select more than one response. Results: The most frequently reported goals for health improvement were: physical activity; reaching a healthy weight; improving nutrition; and improving my sleep. The most frequently reported barriers were: my work roster; lack of time; and lack of motivation. Conclusions: Given that employee preferences and perceptions can influence health participation rates, practitioners may use these research findings to make informed decisions with regards to the selection and marketing of health risk management strategies to employees. For example healthy behaviour change may be supported through a physical activity promotion program that is accessible and appropriate for employees who work 12 hours night shifts.