BestLifeRewarded Innovations Inc. Announces A Major Research Initiative with Federal Government Employees

TORONTO, Sept. 19, 2017 /CNW/ - BestLifeRewarded Innovations is pleased to announce the launch of another ground-breaking employee health behaviour change research project with several federal government departments and agencies, including Canadian Forces Housing Agency, CanmetENERGY-Ottawa (Natural Resources Canada), Correctional Services Canada, and Union of Health and Environment Workers – local 20729 (Environment Canada) using the evidence-informed health behaviour change program, BestLifeRewarded.

The objective of the research initiative is to demonstrate that 'small steps' health behaviour changes will make a significant difference in both the well-being of employees as well as a near-term reduction to the economic burden for employers.  In Canada, about $69.4 billion is spent annually on direct and indirect costs related to five key modifiable risk factors – physical inactivity, smoking, excess weight, use of alcohol and low vegetable/fruit consumption. Of this enormous cost attributed to these five modifiable risk factors, approximately 70% are indirect, such as premature death and workplace disability costs. In Canada, this represents a major economic burden for employers.

According to Dr. Hans Krueger, Professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health, a 1% year-over-year reduction of these five risk factors would save the Canadian economy over $7 billion in the next five years and a staggering $28.1 billion over the next 10 years.

"For the past few years we have been using BestLIfeRewarded Innovations' Mental Health at Work Challenge. Our employees really embraced that initiative so we are excited to bring them this more comprehensive overall health behaviour change program. We look forward to showing results of overall employee health improvements and cost savings," Ann-Marie Friesen, President- Union of Health and Environment Workers (Environment Canada), Local 20729.

Launched in Canada in 2010, the BestLifeRewarded^® national platform brings the benefits of multiple health behaviour change models together to create the best conditions for sustainable health action for members participating in the program. The system, through a guided health risk assessment (HRA) questionnaire, uses a complex segmentation algorithm to tailor the BestLifeRewarded (BLR) program's experience to each member's health profile, stage of health behaviour change and propensity to adhere to lifestyle/medications. Members earn points for engaging in each "small steps" activity. Additional questionnaires in the "MyBLR" dashboard page, e.g. conviction/confidence levels have been designed to help the system provide members with the most meaningful tips for that individual. The system asks members to repeat some of the questionnaires to continue to provide the most targeted/effective user experience and to capture member progress over time vs. baseline data.

"We've launched this employee health study in an effort to demonstrate that a tangible impact can be achieved with an evidence-informed, personalized, automated, scalable program.", says Susanne Cookson, co-founder of BestLifeRewarded Innovations. "We started the rewards-based health behaviour change approach in Canada and we continue to lead the charge with our innovation and evidence-informed approach. We are excited to partner with federal government departments and agencies to demonstrate that our proven solution will have a major impact on the overall health of their employees and significantly reduce the economic burden associated with key modifiable risk factors." 

The first phase of this study is 2 years in length, where employees will be given the BestLifeRewarded program and measure the impact that the program has on the health of employees and the cost savings achieved with healthier employees. At specific intervals, BestLifeRewarded Innovations will report on the overall results of the research sites. Based on key learnings, BestLifeRewarded Innovations will make enhancements to the program as part of their continuous improvement model.

About BestLifeRewarded^® Innovations
BestLifeRewarded Innovations (BLRI), is the creator of the BestLifeRewarded health behaviour change system. The BestLifeRewarded program has continuously demonstrated its market leadership in the category space of health behaviour change with the most comprehensive evidence-informed program including, over 90 health educational modules developed in collaboration with the leading health charities/government agencies, 15+ health tracking tools, integration with Fitbit and other wearables, links to targeted evidence-informed support tools and multiple rewards structures. BestLifeRewarded Innovations supports over 12,000 Canadian companies, and reaches over 3.2 million Canadians and growing.

The platform has been recognized globally for its evidence-informed innovation in health behaviour change. Some of BLRI's international key note speaking opportunities on the BestLifeRewarded approach included the Cayman Islands Healthcare 20/20 (2012), Prevent India (2013), World Hypertension Congress Istanbul (2013), World at Work Total Rewards (2014), Benefits Canada (2014), Canadian Association for Population Therapeutics (2014), Conference Board of Canada (2015), Healthy Minds Canada April 2016, Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada (2016) and the Canada India Health Summit (March 2017) in Delhi.

SOURCE BestLifeRewarded Innovations Inc.

Susanne Cookson, Co-Founder BestLifeRewarded Innovations Inc., Office: [phone] ex 103, Cell [phone], [email protected]