Preconception health and wellbeing interventions in the workplace: A systematic review

Abstract

Background Preconception health status is an important indicator of later health outcomes for mothers and infants. Preconception health promotion strategies are required, as pregnancy may be too late to influence some health behaviors, with impacts on fetal health already established. The workplace has the potential to play an important role in the health and wellbeing of employees and could be an ideal intervention setting in the preconception period. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate workplace interventions designed to improve the health and/or wellbeing of women during preconception. Methods Medline, EMBASE and PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus were systematically searched for relevant studies published between January 2009 and October 2018. Inclusion criteria were interventions involving preconception or pre-pregnancy health, wellbeing or health promotion, and which occurred in the workplace or work organization. Results Two hundred and forty-eight records were retrieved in the search, and four were screened in full text. No eligible studies were identified. We then capitalized on the opportunity to learn from the literature explored during the review screening process to identify areas for consideration in future research and policy agendas for workplace health promotion for preconception women. Conclusions Specific examples of strategies that could be applied in the workplace include legislative changes to reduce smoking, policy directives to improve the food environment and increase physical activity, and the application of electronic health interventions in the workplace. Further research should be undertaken to design, conduct and evaluate interventions to improve preconception health and wellbeing, as well as to improve our understanding of how the workplace might be leveraged for preconception health promotion.

Preconception Health in the Workplace: An Opportunity to Support Equitable Access to Education

“…50 There is, however, an absence of literature that explicitly explores workplace outcomes related to an organization's focus on preconception health and knowledge. 48 Workplace programs tend to address modifiable risk factors, such as nutrition, physical activity, stress, and smoking cessation [51][52][53][54] to alleviate healthcare costs and promote efficiency. 50 Investment in employee well-being and health promotion has been associated with improved corporate competitiveness and productivity, 47 strengthened employee-employer relationships, 55 and may address social determinants of health such as income, job control, and autonomy.…”

“…50 There is, however, an absence of literature that explicitly explores workplace outcomes related to an organization's focus on preconception health and knowledge. 48…”

“…A 2019 systematic review that aimed to evaluate health promotion strategies or interventions delivered in the workplace to improve the health and/or well-being of women during preconception found no eligible studies. 48 More recently, in a qualitative study exploring Australian women's perspectives of workplace healthy lifestyle determinants and preconception health needs, women identified the necessity of greater workplace education and support for preconception healthy lifestyle behaviors. 2 To facilitate equitable workplace access to education and knowledge for preconception health, women discussed the need for a consolidated and strategic focus on workplace well-being (i.e., embedded in workplace culture); explicit policies or action plans around employee well-being; equity of access to healthy lifestyle opportunities according to individual capacity (such as physical, psychological, or social ability); and a more supportive physical and social workplace environment, including healthy food availability.…”

“…[45][46][47] The maternal and child health implications that arise from suboptimal preconception health may increase burden on health systems and amplify productivity costs for employers. 46,48 Organizations often facilitate access to health services and insurance, with a vested interest in advocating for the health of female employees. 45 As such, there has been substantial growth in workplace initiatives that seek to improve general health and well-being, decrease health care and productivity-related costs, and strengthen corporate competitiveness.…”

Utilization of preconception care and associated factors among pregnant mothers in Fiche Town, Central Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study 2021

“…At the time women became aware of their pregnancy and started antenatal care (ANC) in Ethiopia, most of the fetal organs had developed (7,24). PCC, which is the earliest link between maternal and newborn health, provides a window of opportunity to intervene accordingly and improve this gap (16,25).…”