Cognitive and electrodermal effects of suppressing thoughts of an old flame were examined in 2 experiments. Participants were asked to think aloud about an old flame--a past close relationship that either was or was not still desired--as their skin conductance level (SCL) was measured. Participants continued to think aloud as they were instructed either not to think about their old flame or to perform a comparison task. Participants were then asked to think about the old flame again. Participants who had suppressed thoughts of a no-longer-desired relationship were inclined to think aloud more about it afterward whereas those who suppressed thoughts of a still-desired relationship did not show such a rebound but evidenced increased SCL.

This study examined the impact of a worksite health promotion program on short-term disability (STD) days in a large telecommunications company. The evaluation used a quasi-experimental, multiple time-series design with between-group comparison of workdays lost due to STD to determine impact. The study period was 3 years and included 1628 employees on STD leave. Self-selected program participants were compared with non-participants on net days lost at three assessment points: the year before the launch of the program, and each of 2 years post-launch. A comprehensive health promotion program was developed to reduce health care costs, improve employee satisfaction, and enhance the employer's image. Key features of the program included reimbursement for employees participating in the Health Risk Assessment and in wellness or fitness activities. Other features included occupational health services, targeted interventions for high-risk employees, self-care materials, and a nurse advice line. Results revealed no significant differences at baseline between participants and non-participants for net days lost while on STD leave. At the post-program launch, non-participants' net days lost significantly increased from 33.2 to 38.1 when controlled for age, gender, job type, tenure, and STD category, whereas the participant group average net days lost decreased from 29.2 to 27.8. After adjusting for baseline differences, we found a 6-day difference between groups, which represented a 20% program impact. This study found that participation in a health promotion reimbursement program had a significant impact on average net days lost for employee STD absence. These findings represented potential savings in excess of $1,371,600 over a 2-year period. Future program evaluation efforts will address the impact on medical care costs related to program participation.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether participation in the health risk assessment (HRA) component of a comprehensive health promotion program has an impact on medical costs, and whether the addition of participation in interventions has an incremental impact. Program participants (n = 13,048) were compared with nonparticipants (n = 13,363) to determine program impact on paid medical costs. Overall, HRA participants cost an average of $212 less than eligible nonparticipants. As HRA participation increased, cost savings also increased. Additionally, although participation in either an HRA or activities alone resulted in savings, participation in both yielded even greater benefits. The findings indicate that there is an independent benefit of each of these elements of participation, and that the sum of the elements provides a greater benefit than the impact of either of the individual elements alone.

The relationship between behavioral health risks and worker absenteeism was investigated. Data on absenteeism and on 10 behavioral health risk areas were collected from 35,451 employees. Analyses examined whether higher health risks are associated with higher absenteeism, and whether a reduction in health risks translates into a reduction in absenteeism. Results revealed that a significant relationship existed between health risks and absenteeism in 8 of the 10 risk areas examined. Individuals who are at risk are more likely to be absent than individuals at low risk. Additional analyses revealed that individuals who reduce their risks in the areas of mental health, stress, and back are absent less often than individuals who remain at risk. These findings suggest that absenteeism, and the costs associated with it, may be controlled by health promotion programs and the reduction of health risks.

Current peer review literature clearly documents the economic return and Return-on-Investment (ROI) for employee health management (EHM) programs. These EHM programs are defined as: health promotion, self-care, disease management, and case management programs. The evaluation literature for the sub-set of health promotion and disease management programs is examined in this article for specific evidence of the level of economic return in medical benefit cost reduction or avoidance. The article identifies the methodological challenges associated with determination of economic return for EHM programs and summarizes the findings from 23 articles that included 120 peer review study results. The article identifies the average ROI and percent health plan cost impact to be expected for both types of EHM programs, the expected time period for its occurrence, and caveats related to its measurement.