OHS304 - Health and Wellness

Subject Title
Health and Wellness

Subject Description
In this course students will focus on Health and Wellness promotion and prevention as integral parts of occupational health and safety. The relationship between work and the determinant of health will be presented. Students will examine workplace trends and observations as key drivers in the development of Workplace Wellness Programs. Students will be skilled in: identifying risk factors and hazards influencing the health, safety and well-being of individuals and organizations; conducting workplace health surveys; designing, promoting, implementing and evaluating wellness initiatives based on health promotion theory; and using a holistic and multidisciplinary approach in accordance with organizational policies.

Credit Status
Successful completion of this required course provides one credit towards the Workplace Safety and Prevention Program Diploma.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this subject the student will be able to:

1. Differentiate between traditional Health and Safety programs and Health and Wellness programs and examine multidisciplinary team approach benefits.

1. Distinguish between Health and Safety.
2. Discuss legal responsibilities of employees and employers with respect to the programs.
3. Define the five major areas of Occupational Health.
4. Identify roles and responsibilities of the multidisciplinary team - medical health professional health and safety professional, union/worker representative, management, human resources professional, disability management professional.
5. Discuss teamwork and the features of an effective team.
6. Define Health and Wellness within an integrated Workplace Wellness Management System.

2. Develop an understanding of the determinants of health and distinguish factors impacting health and wellness

1. Analyze the social determinants of health from a Canadian perspective
2. Distinguish: cause, determinant and risk factor.
3. Discuss the interconnectedness of the social determinants of worker health status.
4. Discuss the influence of work on the social determinants of health.
5. Discuss the advocacy role: what can individuals/organizations do to improve upon the social determinants of health and health outcomes for workers.

3. Discuss the role and importance of effective workplace health and wellness management and workplace wellness/promotion and prevention for individuals, employers, labour, government and society in general terms.

1. Discuss the terms health, wellness, Workplace Health Promotion.
2. Describe the seven dimensions of wellness.
3. Discuss workplace wellness and health promotion- historical perspective.
4. Discuss a model of health promotion and disease prevention and how to apply to health and behaviour change in the workplace.
5. Distinguish between health promotion and protection.
6. Programs (e.g. immunizations, PPE, hand hygiene, medical screening, etc).
7. Describe the three levels of prevention and identify primary, secondary and tertiary promotion strategies.
8. Distinguish the various approaches for managing and promoting workplace health in view of improving the health of individuals, their families and the organization specifically Occupational Health and Safety, Health Promotion, Employee Assistance Programs and organizational factors.

4. Describe and demonstrate the key steps in developing implementing, evaluating and maintaining a Workplace Health and Well-being Promotion Program.

1. Discuss the reasons for promoting health and wellness in the workplace: what are the defined benefits.
2. Describe the reasons workplace invest in workplace health programs: trends and observations.
3. Describe the key elements of a workplace health and well-being program.
4. Describe the steps to workplace wellness program development including developing a detailed plan, putting a plan into action, monitoring, evaluating and maintaining a program.
5. Discuss key stakeholders of a wellness committee.
6. Explain the purpose of baseline data collection.
7. Demonstrate strategies for data collection specifically by designing a needs assessment survey.
8. Discuss the three general categories organizing and delivering programs.
9. Describe common areas typically addressed in Workplace Health and Well-being programs.
10. Apply knowledge related to workplace wellness policy statements.
11. Interpret different corporate health cultures in Canada (e.g. culture, multiple generations, diversity, aging workforce, etc.)

5. Develop an understanding of Psychosocial Hazards in the workplace and how to create healthy workplaces.

1. Describe reasons why organizations are investing in mental health at work - what is driving this trend?
2. Describe stressors: acute, chronic, daily, and catastrophic.
3. Describe stress, the stress response, and stress moderators.
4. Describe strain and the four categories of strain reaction.
5. Discuss the Canadian Standard for Psychological Health and Safety at work (CSA-Z1003-13) and the 13 organizational factors that affect psychological health at work.
6. Analyze psychosocial work environments (e.g. leadership, expectations, civility, respect, etc.)
7. Analyze the influence of psychosocial work environment on worker health and wellness - emerging trends in workplace demographics and the impact on health and wellness in the workplace (shift work/fatigue/mutigenerational workplaces/overtime/fitness for work)
8. Discuss how to recognize, asses and manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace in view of the prevention of accidents, injuries and illness and also a moral imperative for employers.
9. Discuss work-family conflict: causes and outcomes.
10. Discuss Canadian Statistics on 'work-like balance' and analyze the influence of work-life balance on worker health and wellness.
11. Apply knowledge of work-life conflict when exploring various worker demographic e.g. sandwich generation' in the workforce.

6. Compare various workplace wellness programs, applicable legislation, best practices and policies

1. Distinguish two categories of workplace well-being programs: Family Friendly policies and Health Promotion Programs.
2. Discuss Family Friendly policies including flexible work arrangements, personal leaves and family care benefits.
3. Discuss workplace well-being initiatives including Health Promotion programs: EAP, Stress Managements program.
4. Analyze the importance, cost and effectiveness of Employee Assistance Programs 
5. Discuss workplace well-being initiatives including Health Promotion programs focused on lifestyle changes (i.e. smoking cessation, addiction/substance abuse, nutrition and weight control, hypertension screening, physical fitness, stress management) 

7. Develop an introductory understanding of Disability Management and Return to Work programs and examine key stakeholder roles and responsibilities to the program delivery and success.

1. Differentiate between integrated disability management programs (e.g. modified work, rehabilitation, return to work, etc.)
2. Analyze Graduated Return to Work Programs and their impact on worker health and safety.
3. Discuss the motives for disability management programs.
4. Define duty to accommodate and undue hardship.
5. Describe Disability Management: goals, best practices.
6. Describe the benefits of return to work planning.
7. Discuss the various strategies in RTW planning: workplace accommodation/modified work (i.e. light duty, gradual RTW)
8. Describe tools to assist in RTW: physical demands analysis and functional capacity evaluation.
9. Identify stakeholders in DM along with their roles/responsibilities.
10. Consider barriers in RTW: stakeholders and psychosocial factors.

Essential Employability Skills

    •  Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken and visual form that fulfils the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.

    •  Respond to written, spoken, or visual messages in a manner that ensures effective communication.

    •  Apply a systematic approach to solve problems.

    •  Use a variety of thinking skills to anticipate and solve problems.

    •  Locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems.

    •  Analyze, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.

    •  Show respect for diverse opinions, values, belief systems, and contributions of others.

    •  Interact with others in groups or teams in ways that contribute to effective working relationships and the achievement of goals.

    •  Manage the use of time and other resources to complete projects.

    •  Take responsibility for one's own actions, decisions, and consequences.

Academic Integrity
Seneca upholds a learning community that values academic integrity, honesty, fairness, trust, respect, responsibility and courage. These values enhance Seneca's commitment to deliver high-quality education and teaching excellence, while supporting a positive learning environment. Ensure that you are aware of Seneca's Academic Integrity Policy which can be found at: http://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/academic-integrity-policy.html Review section 2 of the policy for details regarding approaches to supporting integrity. Section 2.3 and Appendix B of the policy describe various sanctions that can be applied, if there is suspected academic misconduct (e.g., contract cheating, cheating, falsification, impersonation or plagiarism).

Please visit the Academic Integrity website http://open2.senecac.on.ca/sites/academic-integrity/for-students to understand and learn more about how to prepare and submit work so that it supports academic integrity, and to avoid academic misconduct.

Discrimination/Harassment
All students and employees have the right to study and work in an environment that is free from discrimination and/or harassment. Language or activities that defeat this objective violate the College Policy on Discrimination/Harassment and shall not be tolerated. Information and assistance are available from the Student Conduct Office at student.conduct@senecapolytechnic.ca.

Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
The College will provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities in order to promote academic success. If you require accommodation, contact the Counselling and Accessibility Services Office at ext. 22900 to initiate the process for documenting, assessing and implementing your individual accommodation needs.

Camera Use and Recordings - Synchronous (Live) Classes
Synchronous (live) classes may be delivered in person, in a Flexible Learning space, or online through a Seneca web conferencing platform such as MS Teams or Zoom. Flexible Learning spaces are equipped with cameras, microphones, monitors and speakers that capture and stream instructor and student interactions, providing an in-person experience for students choosing to study online.

Students joining a live class online may be required to have a working camera in order to participate, or for certain activities (e.g. group work, assessments), and high-speed broadband access (e.g. Cable, DSL) is highly recommended. In the event students encounter circumstances that impact their ability to join the platform with their camera on, they should reach out to the professor to discuss. Live classes may be recorded and made available to students to support access to course content and promote student learning and success.

By attending live classes, students are consenting to the collection and use of their personal information for the purposes of administering the class and associated coursework. To learn more about Seneca's privacy practices, visit Privacy Notice.