Understanding the impact of Workplaces Wellness interventions was the aim of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the AWRC and Westfield Health

The collaboration is expected to generate ground-breaking data and lead to further research, supporting businesses and their employees to take a positive approach to their health and wellbeing.

About Westfield Health

Westfield Health is a wellbeing company offering healthcare cash plans for individuals and workplace wellbeing solutions for businesses and has been in Sheffield for 100 years.

The company works with 400,000 customers and 8,000 companies across the UK, making a healthy difference to people's lives by providing ongoing support and proactive approaches to healthcare.

About the project

In 2018, Westfield Health and the AWRC developed a four-year KTP project, joint-funded by Innovate UK.

The aim of the KTP is to develop a calibrated model to understand the impact of Workplace Wellness interventions on those individuals and companies who invest in them. This merges with Westfield Health's strategic growth plan, which is to diversify its business into health and wellbeing products and service provision.

Sheffield Hallam and the AWRC have substantial expertise and experience in the design, delivery and evaluation of workplace wellness services across a range of organisation types and sizes - the partnership with Westfield Health will complement this area of work.

Expected outcomes

The KTP will predict and maximise the effectiveness of workplace interventions and the impact they have for Westfield Health through reviews, evaluations and large-scale surveys.

The application of evidence-based behavioural change science in health and wellbeing contexts, alongside an implementation science approach, is expected to result in significant data. In the first year it is expected the KTP will generate at least two peer-reviewed articles, with a further two in the coming 18 months as large data sets are generated.