With 2016 in the rearview mirror, what will this year hold forpopulation health management programs? Judging by our conversationswith employers and consultants alike, we see three themesemerging.

Total well-being

Employers will continue to expand the concept of wellness beyondjust physical health. Total well-being encompasses the full range ofwellness, including physical, mental, social and financial health. Indeed, a major technologycompany recently told us that mindfulness, positivity andcreativity are its foremost initiatives this year.

This reflects a different way of thinking about health byfocusing on what is of value to the employee, such as happiness,life satisfaction, caring for family, contributing to the communityand preserving the environment.

Examples of total well-being:

• Mindfulness can be described very simply as the stateof being in the moment. Practicing mindfulness can help reducesymptoms of anxiety and depression, while helping to improvesleeping and eating habits.

• Positivity involves promoting optimism and a gratefulattitude which can be facilitated through stress management andmindfulness programs.

• Creativity is a basic human need according to research.Finding ways to stimulate creativity will be a priority this year.While not every job offers significant opportunities for innovationand creativity, employers should allow employees as much control aspossible over how to get their jobs done, while continuallyencouraging new ideas and enthusiasm.

Helping employees connect to a sense of purpose or being a partof something greater than oneself will also drive greaterengagement and sense of community.

Big data

By integrating multiple data sources and applying sophisticatedanalytics, employers will increasingly be able to identify riskfactors that are predictors for chronic disease, better understanddisease progression and assess geographic and social determinantsof health. Leveraging this data will enable insights for targetedstrategy and program recommendations.

Related: 2017 HR screening trends to watch

Big data will also be used more frequently to personalizewellness offerings to provide relevant feedback and support to helpemployees reach their goals.

For example, an intelligent computer system could recognize thatan employee hasn’t completed an e-learning wellness course and sendher a message asking if she needs assistance or prefers telephoniccoaching instead. It may also try to motivate her by noting thather co-worker in accounting has nearly finished the course, or thatover half of the firm’s employees had completed it. Alternatively,it might suggest that she focus instead on her other goals, such asimproved nutrition, and ask her if she would like resources aboutthat topic.

Another example: Using data reported by employees, an employercould ascertain that some are far more concerned with achievingfinancial wellness than they are with quitting smoking or losing afew pounds.

Thus, the employer could provide these employees with financialplanning resources, rather than communicating with them abouttobacco cessation or weight loss programs.

Incentives

While employers have long used incentives to encourage wellnessprogram engagement, they are rethinking how to more efficientlyleverage both financial and non-financial rewards. We will seeshifts from individual incentives to group targets such as offeringan afternoon outing for employees of a business unit who complete afitness challenge.

Related: Taking the 5D approach to health

This approach is based on the growing recognition that peoplewith strong social connections are generally healthier than thosewho are socially isolated and aims to help build social bonds andsupport a culture of health.

The use of non-financial rewards for program participation —such as social recognition from peers, certificates of achievementor perks such as preferential parking — will also gain momentumthis year.

Employers will also begin shifting from financially focused togroup-oriented philanthropic models.

For example, if employees at a firm’s sales divisioncollectively walk 1,000 miles per month, the firm would make adonation to a local non-profit charitable organization. Or, at theindividual level, for every employee who gets a cancer screening,the employer could provide a free cancer screening for a low-incomeindividual in the local community who can’t afford one.

In short, with the help of advancements in technology, and adeeper understanding of how peers, supervisors, family and friendsinfluence health, innovative employers will reposition theirworksite health promotion efforts by moving to a consumer-firstmodel that builds programs around the needs and goals ofemployees.