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The health and safety of employees at General Motors Corporation (GM) is a major priority. "We are committed to protecting the health and safety of each employee as the overriding priority of this Corporation. There will be no compromise of an individual's well being in anything we do," states the President's Council on GM Health and Safety Policy. The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) GM Center for Human Resources, Health and Safety Department recognizes the importance of the health portion of its purpose through the Center's support and delivery of the UAW-GM LifeSteps Health Promotion Program.
This multisite, multicomponent program focuses on increased health awareness and health education to the entire adult GM family of more than 1 million individuals. Furthermore, a pilot program in two cities adds specific risk reduction programming for the pilot population and has onsite programs in the plants. This article describes the success of the entire jointly sponsored worksite health promotion program, its implementation, and evaluation.
BACKGROUND
The UAW-GM LifeSteps Health Promotion Program began in 1996 due to the UAW and GM's belief that its members and employees deserve the opportunity to improve and maintain their overall health and well being through increased knowledge about health. AU GM employees, retirees, and spouses and adult dependents are eligible to use LifeSteps.
The success of this joint program from GM and the UAW demonstrates that together they have delivered a program concentrating on the health and wellness of aU of their workers, retired workers, and their families. The mission of this joint program is to give individuals the tools and opportunities to maintain good health and to reduce their health risks. The strategy of the program succeeds if individuals who are healthy remain healthy and if those who have health risks are able to reduce their risks. The value of the program is measured by the overall health status of the individuals. Heightened quality of life and overall wellness reaching beyond job to family and community are valuable expectations for the program's effort.
As a joint endeavor, this worksite health promotion program has become one of the largest and most successful joint programs developed between the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources, Health and Safety Department...