The best well-being programs are built upon a solid foundation of scientific research. At WebMD Health Services, we have a team dedicated to creating and gathering the latest well-being insights to inform our products and services and serve as a trusted resource for clients. Learn more about the Center for Research in this week’s blog…
At WebMD Health Services, we’ve spent almost three decades developing our research-backed solution to empower people and foster real change, improving health and well-being outcomes for the individuals we support and for our clients.
Behind these programs is our Center for Research—a team of researchers with deep expertise in behavioral science, epidemiology, industrial/organizational psychology, data science, psychometrics, mixed method research, advanced analytics, informatics, and other related fields.
Our focus at the Center is anchored in conducting research that provides the foundation of scientific evidence for our solution, directly informs product strategy, and advances our knowledge on issues relevant to workforce well-being and employee experience.
In addition, the Center for Research:
- Builds our understanding of the effectiveness of well-being programs and strategies;
- Demonstrates the value and impact of investment in well-being;
- Explores the relationship between organizational culture and the employee experience, emphasizing the importance of culture in driving organizational and individual change; and
- Defines best practices for program design and evaluation.
What has the Center for Research been up to?
2024 Workplace and Employee Survey
This research sought to understand trends and dynamics around employee perceptions of their work and workplace, including the impact of burnout and financial stress. We explored employee experience across generations as well as diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, and how these factors relate to dimensions of well-being and burnout.
Measuring Participation: A Participation Index
This research is focused on building a body of evidence on the role of sustained participation in a well-being program. It is grounded in early research that demonstrated a clear linkage between program participation and health risk change over time (i.e., more participation over time resulted in more risk improvement over time). This study was recognized as one of the 25 most important studies in workplace health promotion for its contributions to the industry and was highlighted as Paper of the Year in 2019 by the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Behavior Change Framework
WebMD’s attention to behavior change is what sets us apart from the competition. Our Behavior Change Framework is designed to support participants’ well-being by guiding them through momentary (short-term) behavior change that leads to sustained (lasting) behavior change. The framework breaks the process of behavior change into four stages and can be applied to participants who want to make a new healthy change or those looking to maintain their current healthy behaviors. Within this framework we also acknowledge that any behavior change is not easy and requires a blend of both intrinsic motivation and the right environmental factors coming together at the right time to succeed. Our Framework was created by the Center Team to guide the design, development and evolution of our WebMD Health Services products and services.
Turning leading edge research into actionable strategies.
The Center for Research is committed to providing practical guidance and actionable strategies that empower our clients and individuals we support, and we strive to bring these insights into everyday practice.
For more information about how the Center for Research can help advance well-being in your organization, contact us at connect@webmd.net.
