Education: A Key Component to Health and Wellness

Investing in employee wellness has been shown to boost employee morale and productivity, increase retention and engagement, and reduce costs associated with absenteeism, burnout, and other mental health concerns. Many employers are recognizing these benefits of workplace wellness (click to read more!) and have implemented strategies to address employee wellbeing. For example, some companies and organizations include coverage for therapy in their extended benefits packages, provide incentives that encourage exercise (e.g., discounts on gym memberships), or offer in-office recreational activities such as ping pong or lunchtime yoga classes. 

Another Key Component to Promoting Health and Wellness? Education!

Another strategy that many employers have begun to adopt to promote employee wellness is education. Research shows that  in general, those who have attained higher levels of education typically have better health outcomes including lower risk for certain medical diseases (e.g., diabetes, liver disease), longer life expectancy, as well as better self-assessed health, relative to those with less educational attainment.1 Moreover, those with higher levels of education tend to engage in more health promoting behaviors including healthier eating and less smoking and substance use, relative to those with lower educational attainment.2,3,4 In sum, more education = better health outcomes.

While there are many reasons that increased education leads to healthier outcomes –  including being able to afford and have access to healthier choices (e.g., gym memberships, fresh and diverse food, etc.) – researchers also believe that individuals who are educated about their health and wellness are better able to understand their health needs, follow health instructions and advice, advocate for themselves and their families, and communicate effectively with health providers.2,5 In other words, when people are equipped with health and wellness knowledge, they can take informed and proactive steps to autonomously bolster their own wellness. 

Does Education Help for Improving Mental Health Too? 

Yes! Education surrounding specific mental health and wellness topics has been shown to be a very effective approach to improve psychological wellbeing. Psychoeducation is the scientific term that is used to describe structured education sessions that are led by a qualified individual to teach people about psychological principles and topics. Research shows that formal psychoeducational programs (typically multiple psychoeducation sessions on a particular mental health concern) are nearly as effective as individual therapy for addressing mental health concerns, and have been shown to reduce stress, psychological distress, and depressive symptoms, as well as improve quality of life.6,7,8,9

Psychoeducation is an accessible and scalable way to help promote health and wellness in our communities for several key reasons:

• It can benefit people of varying ages, backgrounds, and interests.7

• It is effective when delivered via multiple different mediums (e.g., individual or group sessions, virtual or in-person).7,8,9

• It is conducted for only a short period and can be implemented immediately.7

• It can reach many people but at a relatively low cost.9

So psychoeducation is effective, now what?

At WellIntel, we aim to harness this research demonstrating the importance and efficacy of wellness education by providing a pared down and approachable version of psychoeducation. Our qualified Speakers provide evidence-based, single session talks on a variety of wellness topics to office and corporate settings that provide employees with the information and tools they need to promote and care for their own health and wellbeing. By offering educational talks, resources, and tools, employers can support their employees in developing the skills they need to cope with stress, manage their mental health, and cultivate healthy habits both inside and outside of the workplace. Book a talk with one of our corporate mental health and wellness Speakers, or share information about our wellness speaking services today for your next corporate training event or lunch & learn. 

Our Speakers provide mental health and wellness talks in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, and Toronto, and are available to provide virtual talks across Canada.

Written By: 

Nicole Legg, MSc, Clinical Psychology PhD Candidate, WellIntel Talks Expert Speaker
Cindy McDowell, MSc, Research Psychology PhD Student, WellIntel Talks Expert Speaker
Jordan Beck, BA, WellIntel Talks Intern

References:

[1] Hahn, R. A., & Truman, B. I. (2015). Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity. International Journal of Health Services, 45(4), 657–678. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731415585986

[2] Azizi Fard, N., De Francisci Morales, G., Mejova, Y., & Schifanella, R. (2021). On the interplay between educational attainment and nutrition: a spatially-aware perspective. EPJ Data Science, 10(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds/s13688-021-00273-y

[3] Ruokolainen, O., Härkänen, T., Lahti, J., Haukkala, A., Heliövaara, M., & Rahkonen, O. (2021). Association between educational level and smoking cessation in an 11-year follow-up study of a national health survey. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 49(8), 951–960. https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494821993721

[4] Davis, C. N., Gizer, I. R., Lynskey, M. T., Statham, D. J., Heath, A. C., Martin, N. G., & Slutske, W. S. (2023). Adolescent substance use and high school noncompletion: exploring the nature of the relationship using a discordant twin design. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 118(1), 167–176. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15996

[5] Goldman DP, Smith JP. Can patient self-management help explain the SES health gradient? Proc Natl Acad Sci 2002;10929–10934.

[6] Rajgopal, T. (2010). Mental well-being at the workplace. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 14(3), 63–65.

[7] Van Daele T., Hermans, D., Van Audenhove, C., & Van den Bergh, O. (2012). Stress reduction through psychoeducation: a meta- analytic review. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 39(4), 474–485. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198111419202

[8] Donker T., Griffiths, K. M., Cuijpers, P., & Christensen, H.. (2009). Psychoeducation for depression, anxiety and psychological distress: a meta-analysis. BMC Medicine, 7(1), 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-7-79

[9] Tursi M. F., Baes, C.v, Camacho, F. R., Tofoli, S. M., & Juruena, M. F. (2013). Effectiveness of psychoeducation for depression: a systematic review. The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 47(11), 1019–1031. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867413491154