Wellness coordinators' perceived organizational and managerial support in relation to program practices

The purpose of this study was to show a relationship between the programming practices of wellness coordinators who perceive support from their organization and management and those who do not perceive support. Most research on worksite wellness has focused on the effectiveness or impact of wellness...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Velez, Meredith C.
Other Authors: Ellery, Jane E.
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/123456789/195175
http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1661338
Description
Summary:The purpose of this study was to show a relationship between the programming practices of wellness coordinators who perceive support from their organization and management and those who do not perceive support. Most research on worksite wellness has focused on the effectiveness or impact of wellness programs, while neglecting aspects of implementation such as the availability of support for the wellness coordinators in the worksite. The theoretical constructs of perceived organizational support (POS) served as the framework for the current study. A non-experimental, cross sectional questionnaire was the design of the study. Specifically, this quantitative study consisted of web-based electronic surveys. The questionnaire consisted of the following three components: 1.) An original set of demographic questions, 2.) Two subscales within the Leading by Example (LBE) scale, and 3.) Section Four of the HERO Scorecard. The participants included all members (N=150) of the West Virginia Wellness Council (WCWV) and all members (N=2000+) of the Health Educator Directory (HEDIR). All potential participants were sent a request for participation via email during the March and April 2011. The sample consisted of 30 worksite wellness coordinators. It was found that wellness coordinators perceived moderate levels of organizational (mean= 3.84, median=4) and managerial (mean=3.67, median=3.75) on a 5-point Likert scale. The program practices reported were consistent with typical worksite wellness programming initiatives. The analysis of the variables produced unexpected results. The results generally indicated that a negative relationship existed between perceptions of support and program practices. === Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology