Health check Pilots underway

15 October 2008

Between September and November, WorkHealth will be trialling health checks in a number of Victorian workplaces.

As part of participating in the pilot health checks, workers have the chance to learn more about their health. 

A worker participating in a health check will be asked questions about their diet, level of physical activity, medical history, smoking and alcohol consumption.

As part of a consultation with a health professional, a worker will have the opportunity to have tests such as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar levels and height and weight measurements.

The health professional will be able to provide advice and information to the workers, and if necessary, refer them to a GP. 

The pilot allows WorkHealth test the utility and effectiveness of the health checks, before they are rolled out more broadly in partnership with a range of external service providers across Victorian workplaces.

Key features of the health check being piloted include:

• It’s free and it happens at work
• It gives workers a chance to learn more about their health and get advice on how to make changes for the better
• It’s confidential, with no information that identifies individual workers being provided back to employers

Aggregated and de-identified information will be provided back to employers in larger workplaces.  The type of information the employer would receive back in the report could, for example, include that 30-percent of their workforce are smokers.  Providing the employer with this type of information will help them better understand and plan what they can do to help workers to achieve healthier lifestyles.

The pilots will be finished in November.  Once complete, WorkHealth will evaluate the pilots, and begin identifying service providers who can assist in delivering the initiative more broadly to Victorian workplaces from early next year.