Workplace culture as a key factor in lifestyle medicine adoption

Workplace culture plays an integral role in the successful adoption of lifestyle medicine programming within health systems, according to a new study published in BMJ Open.

Researchers developed case studies of health systems with lifestyle medicine programming that had a diversity of size, location, payer model and patient population. More than 40 individuals from those health systems, including administrative leaders, physicians and other team members involved in lifestyle medicine programs, participated in the data collection.

The study found that synergistic and supportive practices, such as providing resources to support the formation of collaborative groups (professional development groups, walking groups, etc.), visually advertising lifestyle medicine, and creating a supportive environment by offering healthy plant-based meal options in cafeterias facilitated the implementation of lifestyle medicine programming.

Participants described a supportive workplace culture as key to implementing and sustaining lifestyle medicine programs. This type of culture “was collectively defined as one in which social resources were present, the physical environment supported lifestyle medicine behaviors and colleagues engaged in lifestyle medicine themselves.” Verbal, written, and non-written communication of key values such as trust, gratitude, collaboration and optimism also indicated a supportive workplace culture.

John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Joel Gittelsohn, PhD, MS, senior investigator on the study, called its findings “incredibly informative and useful.” 

As more health systems integrate lifestyle medicine services, the experiences and best practices of those with successful lifestyle medicine implementation can provide models that inform other systems’ efforts. The case study approach was crucial for developing a nuanced and contextually rich picture of the successes and challenges associated with each systems’ experience with lifestyle medicine integration.”

Dr. Joel Gittelsohn, Professor, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

A growing number of health systems, including NYC Health + Hospitals and the U.S. military, are turning to evidence-based lifestyle medicine to help deliver whole-person care and target the quintuple aim of better health outcomes, lower costs, improved patient satisfaction, improved provider well-being and advanced health equity. There are now 116 health systems members from 38 states in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s Health Systems Council.

“One thing that is clear from the findings in this paper is that strong leadership support and a unified organizational approach for the implementation of lifestyle medicine is a necessary and powerful facilitator,” Dr. Gittelsohn said. “Health systems that intentionally support lifestyle medicine advocates and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors throughout the organization are seen as ‘walking the walk,’ which helps achieve buy-in from clinicians and patients alike.”

Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine-a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, positive social connections, and avoidance of risky substances-also provides effective prevention for these conditions.