Development of a Total Worker Health Model for Employees in Large-Scale Enterprises in Health Region 7: A Case Study of a Meat Processing Factory

Abstract

The research aimed to study the health care context, behavioral problems and health risks of employees in large-scale workplaces as well as develop a holistic health care model for workers. This study employed an action research approach with 4 steps: 1) planning 2) action 3) observation 4) reflection. The sample included 309 employees from a meat processing factory. The instruments consisted of working-age health behavior screening form, in-depth interview guidelines, and focus group discussion guidelines. The research was conducted from October 2022 to September 2023. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

Results 1) Health status, behaviors, and risks, the findings revealed that 50.81% of employees had a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight range. There were 54.86% had higher than normal levels of bad fat. More than half had high-risk fatty food consumption behaviors. while 55.60% and 50.30% exhibited moderate risk in sugar and salty food consumption, respectively. A majority (67.9%) consumed alcoholic beverages, and 49.2% did not engage in physical exercise. 2) The holistic health care model of employees in the workplace found that the establishments implemented a holistic health care model comprising seven processes: 1) policy and appointment of a working group, 2) communication and public relations, 3) program planning 4) planning and determining the health care model 5) establishing a working-age health center 6) organizing health promotion activities according to risks and reflecting health information 7) results evaluation. The model emphasized the principle of participation at every stage, involving both executives and employees in the workplace.

The development process of a new workplace health care model in Health Region 7, There was a strong emphasis on health risk assessment through participatory collaboration among executives and stakeholders. This process involved jointly designing the health care model, workflows reviews, problems-solving, addressing limitations, process improvements, and outcomes evaluation. The holistic health care model developed for workers in industrial establishments showed strong potential for implementation in large-scale enterprises. A key strength of this development is the individualized health risk feedback workers, which enhances their awareness and enables enterprises to align health care planning with actual needs. This, in turn, clearly contributes to reducing negative impacts on productivity and business performance. Enterprises with similar contexts may also consider adapting this development model to suit their specific conditions.