B.-T. Karsh (Ed.): Ergonomics and Health Aspects, HCII 2009, LNCS 5624, pp. 13–22, 2009. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009 Management Support and Worksite Health Promotion Program Effectiveness David M. DeJoy, Heather M. Bowen 1 , Kristin M. Baker 1 , Bethany H. Bynum 2 , Mark G. Wilson 1 , Ron Z. Goetzel 3 , and Rod K. Dishman 4 1 The University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, Athens, Georgia 30602 {dmdejoy,hmbowen, kmbaker,mwilson}@uga.edu 2 The University of Georgia, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, Athens, Georgia 30602 bhhoff2@uga.edu 3 Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Institute for Health and Productivity Studies, 4301 Conneticut Avenue, NW, Suite 330, Washington, DC 20008 Ron.Goetzel@thomsonreuters.com 4 The University of Georgia, College of Education, Department of Kinesiology, Athens, Georgia 30602 rdishman@uga.edu Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and use of management support measures in two worksite health promotion intervention trials. Results from the two intervention trials suggest that management support for health promotion can be assessed and tracked over time using both percep- tual and observational measures. These results also provide initial evidence that an increase in management support can contribute to positive changes in health related behaviors and outcomes. Specifically, longitudinal results from the two studies suggest that interventions designed to increase management support for health promotion resulted in changes in perceptions of management support, ac- tual changes in the work and organizational environment. Preliminary results in these studies also suggest that increased management support is important in weight loss. Keywords: health promotion, management support, organizational climate, workplace, worksite. 1 Introduction Management support is typically viewed as a critical prerequisite to the success of workplace health promotion programming [5,23]. In our review of the relevant work- place literatures, we found that management support is frequently mentioned and dis- cussed but seldom operationalized or measured. Published reports of workplace health promotion interventions often address the steps that were taken to gain or build man- agement support, and such activities are sometimes viewed as key components of the intervention. Occasionally, informant interviews or other qualitative data are presented to gauge the extent to which management facilitated or impeded implementation, or the