Access to Physical and Mental Wellness Programs

Population Health Sciences (PHS) is a relatively new department established in 2016, located in the lower level of the Williams Building. By improving access to physical and mental wellness resources, we aim to decrease faculty and staff burnout. PHS drives health care transformation and aims to be a hub for education, investigation, and expertise in health services, cost, quality, outcomes, and health delivery systems research. The department provides methodological expertise and infrastructure that will advance capacity for population health scientists to pursue impact-driven research and allow clinical professionals to provide better patient and population-oriented care in an increasingly complex health care delivery system.

PROGRESS TO DATE: Increased access to physical & mental wellness programs for PHS department through: treadmill desks, Red Butte membership, meditation sessions. ROADBLOCKS & BARRIERS: Limited space and funding for individual wellness resources. University of Utah Health Department of Population Health Sciences Karina Pritchett VALUABLE LESSONS LEARNED: Access to programs does not necessarily lead to participation in programs. Project Insights ACCESS TO PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELLNESS PROGRAMS PROJECT VISION Population Health Sciences (PHS) is a relatively new department established in 2016, located in the lower level of the Williams Building. By improving access to physical and mental wellness resources, we aim to decrease faculty and staff burnout. PHS drives health care transformation and aims to be a hub for education, investigation, and expertise in health services, cost, quality, outcomes, and health delivery systems research. The department provides methodological expertise and infrastructure that will advance capacity for population health scientists to pursue impact-driven research and allow clinical professionals to provide better patient and population-oriented care in an increasingly complex health care delivery system. BASELINE ANALYSIS & INVESTIGATION IMPROVEMENT DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION The University of Utah Health Wellness Survey 2016 showed our department ranked workload/work environment as a high source of dissatisfaction. To improve access to physical and mental wellness resources the department implemented: • Treadmill Desks: available for use in Chair's office, March 2017 • Red Butte Membership (shared): available for checkout, April 2017 • Guided Meditation Sessions: 15 minutes twice weekly, June 2017 • Survey identified high perceived value in improvements to (1) work efficiency & (2) access to physical & mental wellness programs (Fig. 1) Figure 1 Ranked Most Valuable Improvements Guided QI Project to Improve Efficiency, 4.25 Onsite Child Care, 4 For the first year, we focused on increasing access to physical & mental wellness programs. Grant/ Acadmic Writing Assistance, 3.875 Improvements were communicated using: • Campaign in Spring 2017 to introducing new Training on Mindfulness & Time Mgmt, 3.75 Onsite Exercise Facilities, 3.75 To understand our baseline state we looked at: • Voice of the Customer: Department chair met with several faculty and heard recurring themes of need for access to physical health resources. Active Workstations, 3.75 Physical Space (light/quiet), 3.5 Physically active group activities, 3.5 0 1 2 3 4 Average rating out of 5 • Physical Environment: Located in the basement/first floor of the Williams Building restricts physical activity with minimal windows and natural lighting. Figure 2 wellness resources • Flyers (Figure 2) • Weekly emails • Reminders during weekly staff meeting Discussions will be held at future faculty and staff meetings for feedback on wellness programs. RESULTS GOALS 1 Improve physical health by providing access to treadmill desks 1 Utilization of treadmill desks has been inconsistent 2 Improve physical & mental health by providing access to Red Butte Gardens 2 Red Butte Membership has been used 5 times since 5/5/17 3 Improve physical & mental health by providing short meditation sessions 2 x week 3 Participation in meditation sessions varies and is often used by other departments in the Williams building RESILIENCY CENTER | DEPARTMENT OF POPULATION HEALTH SCIENCES