November 30, 2008

Re: UA Health in Action monthly program report for October 2008

Dear Mike Humphrey,

Please find attached the UA Health in Action program report for the month of October. The monthly report covers the following information:

  • Participation numbers
  • Summaries of events and services (along with statistical information)
  • Program development and miscellaneous
  • Feedback
  • Additional September data

If you have any comments or questions, please let us know. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Very truly,

Shannon Brady Garman

Summer Neuroth

WIN for Alaska, Inc.

UA Health in Action

Monthly Program Report

October 2008

Participation Numbers for Events and Services

In October, WIN for Alaska held the followings events: five Wellness Breaks (WB), UAS Family Fitness Fun Day, UAA Pilates, and numerousIndividualized Health Planning (IHP) program presentations at UAA and UAF. Figure 1 below shows each event’s participation numbers.

October Event Participation
October Event / Number of Participants
Wellness Breaks (Counts are taken at each session, activity, and biometric test. Participants could have attended multiple sessions, activities, and test takings.)
UAA Campus Services
Sessions, snacks, smoothies………………………….
Cholesterol/Glucose.……… (limited registration of9)
Massage………………..…(limited registration of 12)
Total attendance
UAA MaintenanceDepartment
Snacks, smoothies……………………………………...
Cholesterol/Glucose…..… (limited registration of 12)
Blood Pressure…….…….. (limited registration of 12)
Body Composition…….....(limited registration of 12)
Massage………………..… (limited registration of12)
Total attendance
UAS Sitka Campus
Sessions……………………………..…………………..
Wellness Walk…………………………………………..
Blood Pressure……………. (limited registration of9)
Body Composition………… (limited registration of9)
Massage………………..…(limited registration of 12)
Total attendance
UAF Interior Aleutians Campus
Sessions, snacks, smoothies…………………………
Wellness Walk…………………………………………..
Cholesterol/Glucose……….(limited registration of 9)
Massage………………..… (limited registration of 12)
Total attendance
UAF Kuskokwim Campus in Bethel
Sessions, snacks………………………………………..
Wellness Walk………….……………………………….
Cholesterol/Glucose……..(limited registration of 10)
Blood Pressure…………... (limited registration of 10)
Body Composition……….. (limited registration of 10)
Total attendance
Wellness Breaks Subtotal / 26
7
10
43
30
12
11
9
12
74
21
3
7
8
12
51
23
2
5
13
43
40
3
9
8
8
68
279
Physical Activity Presentation
UA Classified Council (Oct. 2) / 22
UAS Family Fitness Fun Day (Oct. 4) / 50
UAA Pilates Class (Oct. 29) / 41
IHP Program Presentations
UAA
Social Sciences Department….………………………
English Department…………….………………………
Health Services…………………………………………
UAF
English Department……………………………….……
Justice Department………………………………..……
Graduate Studies………………………………….……
Environmental Chemistry………………………………
Financial Services College……………………….……
Anthropology Department..….…………………………
Athletic Department……………………………….……
IHP Program Presentations Subtotal / 12
8
50
20
13
6
6
22
5
20
162
TOTAL event participation numbers in October / 554

Figure 1. Event participation numbers in October.

The total participation numbers for all UA Health in Action events in Octoberreached554. Figure 2 shows total event participation numbers for each month in 2008.

Overall Event Participation Year-to-Date
Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr / May / June / July / Aug / Sept / Oct
204 / 226 / 349 / 449 / 172 / 21 / 60 / 52 / 297 / 554

Figure 2. Overall event participation numbers in 2008.

In addition to events, WIN providedservices that included: responding totelephone calls and emails from UA faculty and staff about the UA Health in Action wellness program; providing the Health Activity Tracker (HAT); managing the Get the Point (GTP) incentive program; and offering IHP sessions. Figure 3 shows how many calls and emails were received, how many participants were registered each month in HAT, and how many participated in GTP and IHP.

Services Participation
Year-to-Date / Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr / May / June / July / Aug / Sept / Oct
Incoming Email* / 204 / 329 / 259 / 592 / 235 / 123 / 151 / 160 / 125 / 494
Telephone Calls* / 52 / 197 / 182 / 104 / 101 / 78 / 30 / 120 / 35 / 280
Health Activity Tracker Registration (total to month end) / 793 / 893 / 943 / 990 / 1044 / 1052 / 1062 / 1074 / 1092 / 1121
Get the Point Participants
(total to month end) / 235 / 279 / 323 / 367 / 374 / 381 / 390 / 400 / 415
Individualized Health Planning Participants / 184 / 261 / 302 / 304 / 359

Figure 3. Services participation numbers in 2008. *This includes only incoming emails and calls from UA staff and faculty.
Summaries of Events and Services

These summaries contain WIN’s actions during October for all UA Health in Action events and services. They also include the popularity of ourpublication services, i.e., UA Health in Action website, audiocasts, Online Wellness Center website, UA Health Link, and the Health Tip of the Month emails.

Wellness Breaks

New Actions

  • Held five Wellness Breaks at the following departments/locations:UAA Campus Services, UAA Maintenance Department, UAS Sitka campus, UAF Interior Aleutians campus,UAF Kuskokwim campus in Bethel. The total abnormal cholesterol/glucose test results from all October Wellness Breaksare shown in figure 4 below. Also, the total abnormal blood pressure and body composition analysis results from all October Wellness Breaks are shown in figure 5 below.
  • Coordinated with massage therapists in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Seward, and Sitka for Wellness Breaks.
  • Finished updating handouts with the new topics.
  • Finalized the Wellness Break Request form and posted it online.

Blood Cholesterol Abnormal Numbers
(out of 39 participants)
Total Cholesterol
(Over 200) / Glucose
(Over 100) / Low Density Lipoprotein
(Over 130) / Triglycerides
(Over 150)
10 (25.6%) / 3 (7.7%) / 7 (17.9%) / 5 (12.8%)

Figure 4. Blood cholesterol abnormal numbers. This shows how many blood test results out of 39 tests revealed unhealthy cholesterol/glucose numbers.

Blood PressureAbnormal Numbers
(out of 37 participants) / Body Composition AnalysisAbnormal Numbers
(out of 36 participants)
(over 140/90) / (Men, ages 20-59: over 21% body fat)
(Women, ages 20-59: over 34% body fat)
13 (35.1%) / 18 (50%)

Figure 5. Blood pressure and body composition analysis abnormal numbers. This shows how many blood pressure results and body composition analyses out of 37 and 36, respectively, were unhealthy.

Ongoing Actions

  • Organizing Wellness Breaks for Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks for the coming months.
  • Working on travel arrangements with the rural coordinators.
  • Receiving emails, telephone calls, and faxes from Anchorage and Fairbanks as well as the rural communities.
  • Preparing for a meeting and meeting with Wellness Break coordinators. Working on their requested Wellness Break topics, faculty and staff questions, room preparation, etc.
  • Followingthe Wellness Break promotion schedule: “Save the date” flyer sent one month in advance of the Wellness Break, invitation sent two weeks in advance, reminder emails sent two days before, and appointment confirmation/reminder the day before.

Family Fitness Fun Day

New Actions

Held Family Fitness Fun Day in Juneau on October4. An estimated 20 adults and 30 children attended. Stations included a fitness challenge, playtime, disc golf, mini-tennis, tennis carnival games, foot bocce, and face painting. Bags of sliced apples were also given out. The volunteers for the stations were all UAS staff except for two other persons. As a thank you, five of the volunteers were given $10 gift cards to Heritage Coffee and one was given a $20 gift card to Fred Meyer.

Pilates

New Actions

  • Sent a reminder email to all who had signed up for the two Pilates classes on Wednesday’s in Anchorage.
  • Held the first Pilates classes on October 29 with 41 in attendance.
  • Maintained and updated the Pilates waitlist and class list.
Individualized Health Planning (IHP) Sessions

New Actions

  • Began the second phase of IHP sessions this month. At the end of October, 359 people were registered in the program.
  • The first phase of the IHP program that began in February 2008 concluded this month. The results of this program will be submitted in a separate cumulative report.

Ongoing Actions

  • Working with IT to design an online system that will improve the tracking capabilities for IHPs.
  • Tracking weekly the IHP session totals in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks.
  • Wellness consultants meeting weekly to discuss the IHP program, rooms, getting more participants, and best practices.
  • Promoting IHP sessions through the UA Health in Action website, UA Health Link, and Wellness Breaks.
  • Garnering support for IHP sessionsfrom university departments.

Get the Point (GTP) Incentive Program

New Actions

  • Sent 22 GTP6-month prize emails for group #3in mid-October:

Tier1: Eight participants were sent theemail;four were sent a $50 cash card and one was sent a $50 bookstore gift certificate.

Tier 2: Nine participants were sent theemail; seven responded and were sent a $75 cash card.

Tier 3: Three participants were sent theemail; two responded and were sent a $100 cash card.

Elite: Two participants were sent theemail; one was sent a $100 cash card and one was sent a GPS.

  • Called the UAS bookstore and ordered a $50 gift certificate.
  • Researched an email that was not received by a participant of group 3 due to her outdated email address being listed on HAT.
  • Had multiple meetings regarding the new GTP tracking system. Meetings were regarding the layout, queries, design, and necessary components.

Ongoing Actions

  • Sending a GTP response email to those who do not respond to their prize emails.
  • Shipping GTP prizes to Fairbanks and other rural UA locations.
  • Distributing GTP prizes to the Anchorage mailroom.
  • Reconciling prize email responses with the shipping report to confirm that respondents received prizes.
  • Sending the GTP reminder (to track points) email at the end of the month.
  • Responding to general questions about GTP as well as specifics on the points and prizes.
  • Working on the logistics of HAT with the incentive program, breaking down the point totals for each group and sorting for the 6-month prizes.
  • Resetting user IDs and passwords on HAT.
  • Promoting GTPby walking through departments and via the UA Health in Action website, UA Health Link, IHP sessions, and Wellness Breaks.
  • Garnering support for GTP from university departments.

UA Health in Action Website

Ongoing Actions

Promoting the UA Health In Action website through the UA Health Link, at Wellness Breaks, and at IHP sessions.

Visits and Page Views

In October there were 3,325 visits by 1,407 people (unique visitors), resulting in 6,877 page views, the most page views since the site was launched in September 2007. There were 1,918 more visits in October than in September (1,828). (See figure 6.) Of the 3,325 visits,26% were by new visitors (never accessed before) and 74% were from returning visitors.

Figure 6. Website visits and page views comparison. This graph compares website interest over the last three months.

Top Pages/Links

119pages/links within the UA Health In Action site were viewed a total of6,877 times in October compared to September (102 pages/links viewed a total of 4,056 times). Figure 7 shows the most popular pages. Only pages with five or more visits are shown in the figure.

Popular UA Health in Action Website Pages/Links for October
Page Name / Hits
Home Page / 2,627
Incentives / 255
Programs / 244
Wellness Breaks / 154
Community Events / 148
Fitness Buddy List / 132
IHP / 122
Resources / 98
Newsletters / 96
Toolbox / 94
Calendar / 68
UA Resources / 59
Photo Gallery / 53
Audiocasts / 31
Links that go to pages on other websites
Body Mass Index / 13
Walking Calculator / 7
Calorie Counter / 6
Fitness Quiz / 5
Online Wellness Center / 5

Figure 7. Popular website pages.

Audiocasts

New Actions

Added the following audiocasts to the UA Health In Action website in October:

  • 15 Healthier Things to do with Salt
  • Tips for Preventing Headaches

Ongoing Actions

Continuing to promote audiocasts via the UA Health Link.

Downloads/Opens

Audiocasts were accessed 31 times in October.

Fitness Buddy

As of October 31, 14 people were in the Fitness Buddy directory representing Anchorage, Fairbanks, and North Pole.

Online Wellness Center

Ongoing Actions

Promoting the Online Wellness Center (OWC) through UA Health Link eNewsletters and links on the UA Health In Action website and the Health Activity Tracker.

Visits

In October, the OWC was visited 329 times. The focus was on Dental Health and Hygiene Month. The topics highlighted in the OWC in October were:

  • 10 Unexpected Things You Didn't Know About Your Teeth
  • What a Dental Hygienist Can Tell You
  • How to Banish Bad Breath
  • What Your Saliva Says About You
  • Oral Cancer is Mostly Preventable

Figure 8 compares the number of visits to the OWC over the last three months.

Figure 8. Online Wellness Center visits comparison.

Figure 9 shows how often the most popular articles from the OWC were visited this month. Only pages with five or more visits are shown in the figure.

Popular Online Wellness Center Articles for October
Article Name / Hits
Soak and Seal Your Hands to Fight Winter Dryness / 36
Skin Problems and What to Do About Them / 34
How to Banish Bad Breath / 25
What Your Saliva Says About You / 21
What a Dental Hygienist Can Tell You / 18
Understanding Psoriasis — A Misunderstood Skin Condition / 17
Tanning Salons — A Deadly Choice / 16
Stress Shows on Your Skin / 14
10 Unexpected Things You Didn’t Know About Your Teeth / 12
Oral Cancer is Mostly Preventable / 12

Figure 9. Popular OWC articles.

UA Health Link eNewsletter

New Actions

In the October issue, we:

  • promoted registering for the second phase ofIHP;
  • featured Wellness Champions UAS Road Scholars;
  • advertised the UAS Family Fitness Fun Day;
  • highlighted Nordic walking and Pilates in Anchorage;
  • promoted immunizations; presented October’s national breast cancer awareness challenge;
  • spotlighted the Online Wellness Center’s featured articles on dental health and hygiene;
  • reminded GTP participants who began the program in May that this was their last month to earn points toward the 6-month prize;
  • highlighted new Wellness Break presentations for this fall; and
  • recognized outstanding health achievements amongst university faculty and staff.
Opens

October showed an increasein readership (1,673) compared to August and September(1,530 and 1,633, respectively). (See figure 10.) The number of opens reflects the actual number of times the email itself was opened. In addition to the 1,673 email opens of the October Health Link, 234more opens occurred via web browsers or the website.

Figure 10. Health Link opens in August, September, and October.

Top Articles

Figure 11 shows the most popular OctoberHealth Link articles that were opened in October. Please note that the October issue was sent out at the end of September, and September’s program report shows how often popular October articles were opened in that month. Also,other issues and articleswere opened during October, and the most popular ones are noted in figure 11. Only pages with five or more visits are shown in the figure.

Popular OctoberHealth Link Articles Accessed in October
Article / Hits
IHP Kickoff / 429
Achievements / 107
Immunizations / 24
Wellness Champion—Road Scholars / 28
Get the Point / 15
Wellness Challenge / 15
Popular Other Health LinkArticles and Issues Accessed in October
Nov 2008 Full Circle Farms / 359
Nov 2008 Sweet Potatoes / 343
Nov 2008 Flu Shots / 317
Nov 2008 Issue Main page / 246
Nov 2008 IHP / 138
Nov 2008 Wellness Breaks / 110
Nov 2008 Wellness Challenge / 57
Sept 2008 Issue Main Page / 38
Sept 2008 IHP Fairbanks / 21
Sept 2007 Issue Main Page / 19
Aug 2008 Issue Main Page / 6
Sept 2008 Get the Point / 5
Sept 2008 Wellness Champion / 5
Nov 2007 Issue Main Page / 5
July 2008 Wellness Champion / 5
June 2008 Wellness Champion / 5

Figure 11. Popular Health Linkarticles accessed in October.

Health Tip of the Month

New Actions

October’s health tip was titled Wax Coating on Fruits and Vegetables. It was sent to 129 email addresses, opened 35 times via email, and accessed via the website 35 times.

Ongoing Actions

Continuing to promote the Health Tip of the Month through the UA Health Link and inviting staff/faculty to sign up.

Program Development and Miscellaneous

WIN for Alaska is continually developing UA’s Health in Action wellness program. Our efforts include working closely with the staff and faculty to help facilitate and improve the programs.

New Actions

  • Responded to numerous emails regarding hosting a Full Circle Farms fruit delivery service on campus in Juneau, Fairbanks and Kenai. The delivery service will begin in November.
  • Evaluated the wellness consultant monthly program reporting form and began designing a new online monthly reporting system for more thorough and accurate wellness consultant tracking.
  • Held meetings with our Health Risk Assessment vendorto discuss the content and usability of their product.
  • Organized flu shots in Fairbanks with Valley Clinic for November. Spoke with Anchorage Health Center and got the times and days that they are offering flu shots for staff and faculty. Researched clinics in Juneau but did not find anyone willing or able to do onsite flu shots.
  • Planned a natural foods tour in Palmer for November upon a request from a faculty member who saw our Natural Pantry tour in Anchorage.

Ongoing Actions

  • Meeting monthly with Mike and Erika to discuss all aspects of UA’s wellness program.
  • Working with the various campuses on room schedules for our events and presentations.
  • Working with various people throughout the state to find locations that will allow more staff and faculty to participate in workshops and events.
  • Communicating with staff and faculty by telephone and email on a regular basis. A majority of the calls and emails are from faculty and staff who have questions about the IHPs,GTPincentive program, Wellness Breaks, and resetting user IDs and passwords.
  • Adding to our internal resources document.
  • Learning about campus-run programs and developing ways to help support them.
  • Developing targeted email communication based on the feedback from faculty/staff evaluations, interest surveys, emails, and telephone conversations.
  • Working towards the Well Workplace Award.
Feedback from Participants & Wellness Consultants

The following are quotes taken from emails and evaluations that we received this month.

Wellness Breaks—Staff and Faculty Comments

•Can’t wait until next time.