Short-term economic evaluation of physical activity-based corporate health programs: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: Corporate health programs (CHPs) aim to improve employees' health through health promotion strategies at the workplace. Physical activity (PA) plays a crucial role in primary prevention, leading many companies to implement PA-based CHPs. However, there is limited examination in the scientific literature on whether physical-activity-based corporate health programs (PA-CHPs) lead to economic benefits. This systematic review aims to summarize the available literature on the economic aspects of PA-CHPs. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify studies focused on PA-CHPs targeting healthy sedentary workers and reporting at least one economic outcome, such as Return on Investment (ROI), costs, or sick leave. Results: Of 1036 studies identified by our search strategy, 11 studies involving 60020 participants, met the inclusion criteria. The mean cost per capita for PA-CHPs was estimated as 359€ (± 238) (95% CI 357 to 361). In 75% of the studies, the net savings generated by PA-CHPs in 12 months were reported, with an average of 1095€ (± 865) (95% CI 496 to 1690). ROI was assessed in 50% of the included studies, with an average of 3.6 (± 1.41) (95% CI 2.19 to 5.01). Conclusions: In addition to promoting a healthy lifestyle, PA-CHPs have the potential to generate significant economic returns. However, the heterogeneity among the existing studies highlights the need for standardization and accurate reporting of costs in future research.