In the wake of a healthcare crisis, where
Global Health estimates that while life spans have increased from 67 years in 2000 to 73 years in 2019, on average people only spend five of those additional years in good health. People often have non-communicable diseases such as heart trouble, cancer, respiratory diseases and diabetes that affect their quality of life. The World Health Organization estimates that non-communicable diseases are responsible for 71% of all deaths globally.
Vitality, a health solutions company that works to drive behavioral changes for workforces around the world, has launched a
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“If you can change your behavior for good, that will benefit your employer, your health insurance and society,” says Tanya Little, chief growth officer at Vitality. “We engage our members by guiding and directing them to the activities that best support their healthcare needs.”
Vitality’s platforms provide health-related prompts and allow users to self-report habit changes and submit exercise data from their smart phone or watch. In turn, users can rack up currency that goes toward their healthcare needs, or gift cards. Vitality’s virtual marketplace can direct users to healthcare providers as well as offer more instant rewards — users can even get an Apple watch, for example, and attempt to pay it off solely through the platform’s rewards system.
“We want to encourage people to make the best decisions for their future self when their present self does not want to go for the run and just wants to watch TV and eat crisps,” says Little. “So, we're going to reward you for what you do in the now because as humans, we are wired for instant gratification.” By adding evidence of just how much one’s current habits can threaten their future, Little hope the health span calculator will kickstart user engagement.
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The online calculator, which aims to serve as a kind of preventative care, is based on research conducted by global think tank RAND, UCLA and Vitality. Little anticipates that the algorithm will eventually evolve to include mental health related questions and guidance.
“The definition of wellbeing is going to expand and health plans are going to care about more than what food are you putting in your body,” Little says. “Really forward-thinking health plans will start thinking more in terms of journeys and less about events.”
Employers will also become increasingly more responsible for their employees’ well-being, especially after COVID put a spotlight on how crucial it is for workers to have employers that care about physical and mental health. This may be intuitive to businesses already — Vitality’s research found that healthier people often earn bigger bonuses.
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“Companies are getting villainized when they don’t treat their people appropriately because people expect more from us,” says Little. “Employers should realize that the same behaviors that give higher lifespans are the same things that create better productivity.”
According to Vitality’s Healthy Hyrbid report, 80% of employees surveyed prioritized an employer who cares about their health and well-being as a factor affecting their future career choice. For Little, this also means employers must help employees fight the growing difference between quality and quantity of life.
“The same things that influence how long you live also influence how well you live,” says Tanya Little, chief growth officer at Vitality. “What we’re trying to do is not just deliver health outcomes but increase things like productivity and employee tenure — all the stuff that makes a happy, satisfied employee.”
