Reports from State University of New York (SUNY) Describe Recent Advances in Health Promotion (Using a Social Capital Framework To Explore a Broker’s Role In Small Employer Wellness Program Uptake and Implementation)

2020 OCT 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Researchers detail new data in Health and Medicine - Health Promotion. According to news originating from Oswego, New York, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Small employers, while motivated to implement wellness programs, often lack knowledge and resources to do so. As a result, these firms rely on external decision-making support from insurance brokers.”

Financial support for this research came from Center for Disease Control and Prevention/NIOSH.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the State University of New York (SUNY), “The objective of this study was to analyze brokers’ familiarity with wellness programs and to characterize their role and interactions with small employers. Using a newly developed common interview guide (20 questions), protocol and analysis plan, 20 interviews were conducted with health insurance brokers in Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Washington in 2016 and 2017. In addition to exploring patterns of broker interactions and familiarity by segment, we propose a framework to conceptualize the broker-client relationship using social capital theory and the RE-model. Interviews were transcribed, summarized and a common codebook was established using DeDoose. Themes were identified following multi-rater coding and structured within the framework. Participating brokers reported having a high to moderate familiarity with wellness programs (65%) and a majority (80%) indicated that they have previously advised their small business clients on the availability and features of them. Further, we find that brokers may help eliminate barriers to resources and act as a connector to wellness opportunities within their professional network. New initiatives to promote small employer wellness programs can benefit from examining the influence of brokers on the decision-making process.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “When engaged and supported with resources, brokers may be effective champions for employer wellness programs.”

For more information on this research see: Using a Social Capital Framework To Explore a Broker’s Role In Small Employer Wellness Program Uptake and Implementation. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2020;():. American Journal of Health Promotion can be contacted at: Sage Publications Inc, 2455 Teller Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, USA.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Michele Thornton, State University of New York (SUNY), School of Business, Dept Management & Mkt Hlth Serv Adm, 257 Rich Hall, Oswego, NY 13126, United States. Additional authors for this research include Kristen Hammerback, Jean M. Abraham, Lisa Brosseau, Jeffrey R. Harris and Laura A. Linnan.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117120957159. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)