Maximizing ROI: Improving Health, Reducing Costs
18th Annual Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference
March 3-4 and 5-8, 2008
San Diego California

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Over the past three decades, health promotion has evolved from a clever but vague idea about helping people change their habits to improve their wellbeing to a well developed art based on solid science. We now know that lifestyle habits account for half of all premature deaths, are the primary cause of six of the top ten causes of death, and accelerate the onset of disability by nearly a decade. We also know that lifestyle factors account for a quarter to half of medical care costs and that the cost of productivity losses is greater than the medical care costs. Smoking, lack of exercise, and poor nutrition are linked to a multitude of conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer, erectile dysfunction, and dementia. Excellent programs have prevented and sometimes reversed these conditions.

So what works best? What programs and strategies yield the most dramatic health improvements? What programs and strategies reduce medical costs most effectively? Which ones have the greatest impact on absenteeism, presenteeism, and overall productivity enhancement? Which ones are best for employee morale? Which programs and strategies are most cost effective? What is the best way to measure health improvements and financial returns? What outcomes are realistic to expect? How do you develop and implement a program that produces the best outcomes? To sum it up, how do we maximize ROI?

These are the questions we will explore at our 18th Annual Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference. The conference will be in San Diego, California, with the core conference sessions held March 5-7 and Intensive Training Seminars March 3-4. We have already confirmed most of the best scientists and practitioners as speakers who will help us answer these questions, but we will be accepting additional proposals for Research Presentations, Program Descriptions, and Panel Discussions through October 1, 2007, for poster presentations through January 8, 2008, and for Making Connections through January 31, 2008.

For details on how to submit a proposal, see page 68 of this issue. For additional details on speakers, how to register, and much more, see our web site: http://www.HealthPromotionConference.org.


Michael P. O'Donnell, PhD, MBA, MPH