Many companies offer on-site health clinics or vaccination services as employee benefits, but may not see as great a turnout as they might have hoped. In order to boost employee participation and improve health, Knowledge@Wharton says human resources executives may want to use gentle reminders to encourage preventive care.
A recent research paper found a simple alteration in the form letter used to notify employees of the services available was effective in improving participation in a flu-vaccination clinic.
"Forgetfulness is a big part of why people don't take preventative health actions; they mean to, but when it comes down to it, they don't remember," said Wharton professor Katherine Milkman. "One solution is to help people make a concrete plan."
In the study, researchers worked with a healthcare communications firm to develop three different mailings about the clinic. The report says the first simply informed employees about the service, the second asked employees to write down what day they would attend while the third prompted them to write down a specific day and time they would visit the clinic.
In the end, 37.3 percent of people who had been asked to write down a specific time and date to get a flu shot actually attended the clinic, which was 4.2 percent higher than the first group.
