Posted by admin | Posted in Employee Wellness, wellness program | Posted on 30-07-2010
Brown bag presentations are a good way to create awareness about selected health topics. Community health experts will often provide presentations of a half hour or less at no charge.
Use staff member interest surveys to follow up on staff member interests that are expressed. The definition of health is broad, so brown bag presentations may also cover a wide variety of topics. Topics might include physical, mental, emotional, women’s health, men’s health, financial health, etc.
Considerations for brown bag presentations –
• Brown bag sessions are excellent for awareness building. This seed planting process can help employees become more proactive about healthy choices.
• Do not schedule the health promotion program for the full hour – generally 40 minutes or so works best. This will allow folks a chance to come and go, grab a quick bite, ask questions, etc.
• If the subject matter is sensitive, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, etc., it’s possible individuals are going to be reluctant to attend for fear of being associated publicly with the problem. They will, however, attend if the focus is on assisting family members, peers, etc.
• Ensure that staff members hear valuable information and will leave with tools and resources to carry out the message. Be sure to work with the presenter on information strategies that work for your employee group.
• Promotional materials should publicize the wellness program with a name that indicates the brown bag focus. Include all other pertinent information such as where, who, when, etc.
• Some topics that can’t be covered in one session might be offered in a short series. It’ll work best to schedule one session each week in lieu of several sessions in one week.
For example, you could offer a 3-week series on healthful eating in lieu of attempting to cram all the information into one session.
• A catchy title can draw people to the event. An example of this would be calling lunchtime presentations “Noonlighting”
• If possible, provide a free healthy snack for workers who attend.
• To keep the momentum going, try establishing up a routine monthly time and day for lunchtime seminars.
• If personnel work in shift or are in work groups in different geographical areas, devise a plan that offers equal attendance opportunity to all.
Resources –
1. Please see the idea list after this guide which offers a selection of resource topics of interest to employees.
2. Every community has many person, specialists, or specialists from voluntary groups (heart, cancer, lung associations), special interest groups (Y’s, Red Cross, Weight Watcher’s, Safety Council, Alcoholics Anonymous), or the local health department as possibilities to present workplace sessions free or at a low cost.
A lot of of these contacts will also provide low cost materials.
3. Topic videos could be used for a brown bag session.