Healthy Workplace
Working on Wellness By Samantha Wright Allen, Prince George Citizen
In a world where men rarely make it to the doctor, die earlier than women and are on the whole less healthy, remote worksites are a captive audience that some health professionals can’t pass up.
by filling out a survey saying what health outcomes are most important to them. Then, it’s on the Working on Wellness project to put in the programs that help make “the healthy choices the easy choices.”
Not to mention the unique reality of remote camp jobs: long hours, working stretches of days on end in one space, and where physical activity may not be first priority all make the sites a place where the gender gap in health outcomes is more pronounced.
“We usually have a champion in each of the sites,” said Collins. Some of those champions are the paramedics who are already on site. WorkSafeBC requires first aid attendants at every worksite, but Iridia Medical offers primary care and advanced care paramedics with immediate access to remote consultation from its doctors. Most sites are very safe spaces, so Iridia founder Dr. Allan Holmes said the paramedics have loads of time to implement the project’s preventative programming.
So, a new pilot project called Working on Wellness is taking on that challenge. The months-old program is active in four sites in the Yukon and two in B.C. - with BC Hydro at Mica Creek and Nexen in North Liard - with a tentative two more sites planned. The collaborative initiative led by the BC Healthy Living Alliance will follow these sites over the next three years. The project is filling a gap, said Mary Collins, director of the alliance. “That’s what this is all about, is looking at new approaches,” said Collins, adding the worksites offer an ideal environment where they have easy access to a large numbers of employees. The health programs are site-specific as the workers start
“What we’ve realized is that there’s a real opportunity for these paramedics to promote healthy living and healthy workplaces,” said Holmes. The partnership works well, he said, because strong materials and training tips are provided by the project while his company has direct access to the workers who need the help. “What’s quite unique is these are usually fly-in or drive-in camps so paramedics basically live in the same camp environment as workers. Where we found it’s really been very successful is they get to know and trust the paramedic,” said Holmes, adding the peer-to-peer approach can be more effective. “A lot of this work gets done over the lunch table or having coffee.” Holmes has paramedics in about eight sites across the province and is implementing the lessons learned even though only two are involved in the pilot project. “I’m very passionate about getting this into as many different groups and areas as we can. What the pilot does is show us there’s some hard data around it,” he said. “What I’m hoping out of this is that more companies realize you can do this work. You can put wellness into your company culture.” Holly Christian, men’s health regional lead for Northern Health, said this approach made sense. “When we’ve looked at men’s health, we ask where the men are, where we could access them and where it would make the most difference to talk about their health,” said Christian, adding the north also has a higher number of vulnerable populations, particularly First Nations. Women typically dominate participation in workplace wellness programs, but this male-focused approach makes the prospect of adopting better eating habits, increasing physical activity and reducing stress more attractive to men. Industry was a natural focus, especially when workers can spend several weeks at a time on a single site, logging long hours. The group setting is a good fit, too. “It also takes the onus off of the individual to reduce chronic disease,” she said. “It’s really about creating supportive environments.”
A Healthier You | 10 | August 2015