Worksite Health and Wellness Programs in India Abraham Samuel Babu a, ⁎ , Kushal Madan b , Sundar Kumar Veluswamy a , Rahul Mehra c , Arun G. Maiya a, d a Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India b Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New-Delhi, India c Indian Health Alliance, Canon City, CO d Dr. TMA Pai Endowment Chair in Exercise Science and Health Promotion, Manipal University, Manipal, Kamataka, India ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Worksite health and wellness (WH&W) are gaining popularity in targeting cardiovascular (CV) risk factors among various industries. India is a large country with a larger workforce in the unorganized sector than the organized sector. This imbalance creates numerous challenges and barriers to implementation of WH&W programs in India. Large scale surveys have identified various CV risk factors across various industries. However, there is scarcity of published studies focusing on the effects of WH&W programs in India. This paper will highlight: 1) the current trend of CV risk factors across the industrial community, 2) the existing models of delivery for WH&W in India and their barriers, and 3) a concise evidence based review of various WH&W interventions in India. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Workplace India Cardiovascular risk Occupational health Diseases have adverse social, psychological and economic consequences, not only on the individual but also on the well- being of the affected families. In India, the total burden from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is expected to rise from 40% in 1990 to nearly 75% of all deaths by 2030. 1,2 NCDs place a significant financial burden on the individual as only about 10% of the Indian population is covered by some form of health insurance, resulting in a greater proportion of out-of- pocket expenditures. 3 Studies indicate that cardiovascular (CV) diseases (CVDs) and cancer drive 10% and 25% of the affected families into poverty, respectively. 4 In fact, CVDs account for the maximum burden of NCDs both worldwide and in India. CVD also impacts the produc- tivity of the working age adults who are the economic engine of the country. In 2010, India lost about 6% of its gross domestic product (GDP) secondary to premature deaths and preventable diseases. 3 Public health interventions are essen- tial to combat the burden of CVD. In growing recognition of this need in India, there has been a paradigm shift in public health initiatives from a communicable disease centric approach to a one that includes CVD in its ambit. Worksite health and wellness (WH&W) programs are being recognized as an important strategy for promoting health and reducing the burden of CVD, both at the primary and at the secondary level. 5 These programs are employer initiatives directed at improving the health and well-being of workers and, in some cases, their dependents. These programs may be structured as primary, secondary and tertiary prevention programs. 5,6 The Healthy People 2010 project in the United States (US) made worksite health promotion one of its strategic goals by stating “75% of all the worksites (irrespec- tive of their size) would develop comprehensive WH&W programs”. In an effort to work towards this goal, the American Heart Association (AHA) began supporting these PROGRESS IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES 56 (2014) 501 – 507 Statement of Conflict of Interest: see page 506. ⁎ Address reprint request to Abraham Samuel Babu, MPT, Assistant Professor, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University, Manipal-576104, Karnataka, India. E-mail address: abrahambabu@gmail.com (A.S. Babu). 0033-0620/$ – see front matter © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2013.11.004 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect www.onlinepcd.com