Working towards Wellness- An Indian Perspective

People in low and middle-income countries tend to develop chronic diseases at younger ages, and suffer for a longer period as compared to their counterparts from the developed world.

Rajarshi Sengupta

As part of a study that PricewaterhouseCoop-ers (PwC) conducted in conjunction with the World Economic Forum's 'Working towards Wellness' initiative, it examined the challenges facing businesses as a consequence of the growing epidemic of chronic disease, which is the leading
cause of death and disability worldwide.

The purpose of the study was to act as a facilitator and stimulant of greater business engagement to help prevent chronic disease through employee wellness programmes. The goals of this initiative was to engage CEOs and business leaders to commit to improve employee health; help companies take practical steps to do this; and facilitate collaboration between stakeholders to help prevent chronic diseases.

Wellness is commonly defined as an organised set of activities designed to help individuals and their family members make and/or maintain voluntary behaviour change(s) that help reduce their health risks and/or enhance their ability to function.
Purpose

The current report draws heavily on the findings of the report highlighting the findings of the global study conducted by PwC and places the global report in an Indian context. The study conducted globally becomes even more critical for countries such as India; as such chronic diseases are increasingly affecting people in developing countries poised for growth.

In addition, two per cent of the capital spent on workforce is lost to disability, absenteeism and attendance arising from chronic diseases. Combined, these indirect costs are more than the additional direct medical claim costs that some employers incur.

The report, therefore, tries to set the context of how such global findings relate to India, and in particular take a look at case studies around the growing Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled services (ITeS) industry in India. Indian multinationals in this segment have been prominent in using the workplace to promote long-term health behavioral change to the measurable benefit of themselves, their employees and local communities.

Deriving from these experiences, and its experience worldwide, the current report first examines the nature of the problem in India, and then suggests a framework to corporations adopting wellness programmes, geared towards making these initiatives effective.

What is a Chronic Disease?

The US National Center for Health Statistics defines chronic disease as one that persists for a long time i.e. for three months or more. The major contributors to chronic diseases are health damaging behaviours ranging from tobacco use, lack of physical activity and poor eating habits. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, obesity are fast becoming the leading cause of death and disability in both the developed and developing world.

In particular, in regions such as India, with a growing urban population that is increasingly susceptible to such life-style diseases, chronic diseases are expected to cause a greater number of deaths than non-chronic diseases.

Chronic diseases, however, are among the most preventable diseases. Adoption of healthy behaviors such as eating nutritious foods, being physically active, and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or control the devastating effects of these diseases.

Who is Affected?

Traditionally, chronic diseases have been associated with the wealthy and elderly sections of society. However, it has now been proved that all sections of the society and people from different age groups including those who are in the working age are equally vulnerable to chronic diseases. The diseases cut across boundaries and people from both developed and developing nations are affected. In low and middle-income countries, approximately 80 per cent of all disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) are lost due to chronic disease before the age of 60. The impact of chronic diseases and related risk factors have far reaching implications ranging from consumption and saving decisions, labour-market performance, and human-capital accumulation. Evidence shows that chronic diseases have had a significant negative impact in terms of economic growth in high-income countries. There is a growing realisation among the policy makers in the developing countries that measures would have to taken to ensure that economic development does not get hampered due to the ill effects of chronic diseases.
source:www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com