Does workplace health promotion in Denmark reach relevant target groups?

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) is available for workers with poor health status (overweight, musculoskeletal disorders, sickness absence and poor self-rated health) or health behaviour (smoking, poor diet and sedentarism) and whether they participate in WHP. In total, 9835 workers responded to questions regarding availability to 6 different types of WHP through The Danish Work Environment Cohort Study in 2010. Logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, gender and industry were performed to calculate odds ratios for availability and participation of WHP among groups with different health behaviours and health status. In general, poor health behaviours were associated with reduced availability of and participation in WHP. In contrast, poor health status was generally associated with higher availability of WHP and increased participation. However, poor self-rated health was associated with lower availability of several types of WHP and reduced participation. In general, workers with health challenges that are visible to others had WHP available, whereas workers with less visible health challenges had WHP less frequently available. Health challenges visible to others were associated with higher participation in WHP, whereas poor health behaviour and reduced self-rated health were associated with reduced participation in WHP programmes.