Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why should our worksite complete the Designing Healthy Environments at Work assessment?
  2. Who is eligible to complete DHEW?
  3. Can our worksite complete the print (preview) copy of DHEW instead of the online version?
  4. How long will it take to complete DHEW?
  5. Who should be involved in completing DHEW?
  6. What resources might be helpful in completing DHEW?
  7. How do we get started on DHEW?
  8. Can more than one person work on DHEW at the same time?
  9. Can we edit and change our answers that we've entered in the online DHEW?
  10. Does DHEW need to be completed in one sitting, or can the work be spread out over several sessions?
  11. What was the rationale for including the particular questions in DHEW?
  12. How long has DHEW been in use?
  13. What is the deadline for completing DHEW?
  14. What if we make a mistake and submit/finalize our DHEW before it is ready?
  15. How do we make updates to the information we provided when we registered our worksite to complete DHEW; for example, if we have a new primary email address or a contact phone number changes?
  16. Our worksite is very small. Is it worth completing DHEW?
  17. I received a timeout message and had to log back in to resume data entry. How can I prevent this from happening?
  18. What happens after we submit/finalize our worksite's DHEW?
  19. Who do we contact if we have other questions?

  1. Why should our worksite complete the Designing Healthy Environments at Work assessment?

    Because adults spend a large portion of their waking hours at work, the worksite environment can have an impact on the health of employees. As an employer, you are aware that the physical health of your employees affects the fiscal health of your business.

    Completing DHEW is an important initial step in improving a worksite's health as it helps to identify strengths to build on as well as targeting areas and possible actions for positive change.

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  2. Who is eligible to complete DHEW?

    Any worksite in the State of Michigan may complete the Designing Healthy Environments at Work assessment. Worksites outside of Michigan who are interested in DHEW should contact us for further assistance.

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  3. Can our worksite complete the print (preview) copy of DHEW instead of the online version?

    Yes, the print version is useful for collecting information from various worksite sources and team members prior to data entry on the online form. However, the online version is the only official version for several reasons.

    • The online program calculates your worksite's score automatically each time you save your work. Accurate manual scoring is very difficult.
    • The online DHEW performs a series of edit checks to ensure that your worksite has provided complete and consistent response to every question. This assures that you receive the maximum score possible and that DHEW is complete and correct. No such checks occur on the paper version.
    • Completing the online DHEW means that Michigan Healthy Communities Collaborative has a single centralized database of worksite information that will best assist them in supporting your worksite and other Michigan businesses to support efforts to create healthier employees.
    • The online program produces a report that can assist worksites with planning activities that will create healthier worksite environments.

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  4. How long will it take to complete DHEW?

    DHEW takes 30 - 60 minutes to complete online after conducting the research and collecting the data necessary to answer the questions. It is estimated that it will take 2 to 4 hours for research and data collection. To assist worksites in completing the assessment, it is recommended that you print a preview copy of DHEW before you complete the online assessment. The copy is available in the Preview the DHEW section of this website.

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  5. Who should be involved in completing DHEW?

    First and foremost, management support of completion of DHEW is critical. If your worksite has an already established wellness committee, members of the committee will be a good resource when completing DHEW. If your worksite does not have a wellness committee, it may be necessary to request assistance from employees in the following areas (if applicable):

    • Human resources
    • Employee health & safety
    • Food service
    • Union
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  6. What resources might be helpful in completing DHEW?

    In addition to the assistance from the employees that represent various areas at your worksite, you may find the information provided in the Resource Guide section of this website helpful when completing DHEW.

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  7. How do we get started on DHEW?

    The first step is to register your worksite. Registration takes less than 10 minutes. You'll need the following information about your worksite to complete the registration: total number of employees and percent that are full-time, salaried, eligible for employer-paid health benefits, union, manual laborers, 2nd or 3rd shift workers, away from the worksite half or more of their hours (e.g. sales). This information is generally available from your Human Resources department.

    The registration process ensures that only one DHEW is being completed for a given worksite location. Registration allows you to access your DHEW assessment and to enter data about your worksite.

    During any online session, you can enter as little or as much data in DHEW as you like. You can also edit and change information anytime you like (prior to final submission/finalization of your assessment). By clicking the Save button (that appears several times within as well as at the bottom of each page), you save your data and can resume where you left off at the next session. When you return to the home page of the Designing Healthy Environments at Work website to continue your work, you will see a log in box. Log in with your username and the password you selected at registration. You can then resume data entry where you left off previously. Information that you may find helpful in completing DHEW is provided in the Resource Guide section of this website.

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  8. Can more than one person work on DHEW at the same time?

    Yes, the system is designed so that more than one person from your worksite location can work on the online assessment at the same time. Each user from the worksite logs in with the same username/password. However, there are risks to simultaneous data entry. If two (or more) individuals are working on the same section at the same time, one person (the person who enters and saves last) will overwrite the previously person's work. This can cause confusion, errors, and extra work. Therefore, we strongly suggest that worksite data entry efforts be coordinated by a single individual and that workable procedures be established. For example, you might allow only one person to enter data on any given section. Other committee members/individuals who want to provide answers or suggest changes to a section should give them to the person responsible for that section. Similarly, while all committee members/individuals may be involved in the final review, only one person might be designated to make the final changes and submit the assessment.

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  9. Can we edit and change our answers that we've entered previously in the online DHEW?

    Yes, you can edit and change answers both during a data entry session and/or at subsequent data entry sessions anytime prior to submitting your assessment. Once you have electronically submitted your DHEW assessment, your answers are "frozen" and cannot be changed.

    Be sure to save frequently--at least every five minutes as well as anytime you go from one section to the next, and at the conclusion of your data entry session--in order not to lose data. Save buttons are placed frequently throughout the assessment forms to remind you to save your work and to make it convenient for you to do so.

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  10. Does DHEW need to be completed in one sitting, or can the work be spread out over several sessions?

    The work can be spread out over as many sessions as you need. Be sure to save your work at the end of each session in order not to lose data.

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  11. What was the rationale for including the particular questions in DHEW?

    Each question represents one specific way that a worksite could make it easier for its employees to move more, eat better, and lead a tobacco-free lifestyle. The questions focus on the key aspects of a worksite that can make a difference and are based on previous assessments developed by Michigan communities, several state health departments, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The aim of DHEW is to cover the critical points in each of the three topic areas to obtain an overall assessment of the worksite health environment. Other available (or soon to be available) assessments cover various topic areas in more depth. See the Resource Guide for links to these other in-depth assessments.

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  12. How long has DHEW been in use?

    2005 is the first year that the online DHEW has been available.

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  13. What is the deadline for completing DHEW?

    There is no specific deadline for completing DHEW. The DHEW database is periodically refreshed to allow for annual clean up. This may affect the data entered by worksites. When a clean up is scheduled, worksites with an assessment in progress will be notified via email and given instructions so that data entry on their form will not be lost.

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  14. What if we make a mistake and submit/finalize our DHEW assessment before it is ready?

    Please contact us directly via phone or email to let us know if you've submitted your assessment in error. We will manually reactivate your DHEW assessment so you can resume work.

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  15. How do we make updates to the information we provided at registration; for example, if we have a new primary email address or a contact phone number changes?

    To change information you provided at registration, such as primary email address, primary contact, phone numbers changes, password, and the like, log into the website using your current information (current username and password). Click on the Update Your Info menu item. Enter the new information and click the submit button.

    If the information you wish to update is not on the Update Your Info form, please contact us.

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  16. Our worksite is very small. Is it worth completing DHEW?

    We believe that worksites of all sizes benefit from DHEW. The assessment was designed so that all questions apply to all worksites, regardless of size.

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  17. I received a timeout message and had to log back in to resume data entry. How can I prevent this from happening?

    The DHEW website logs you off (times you out) if you have not been active on the website for a long period of time (e.g., navigating to another page or saving your work.) This might happen, for example, if you were called away from your desk while entering data on your DHEW. The reason for these time outs are for web performance efficiency (to prioritize web resources to those who are active on the site) and security (to deny access to unauthorized individuals who might walk by your computer). Although the DHEW server timeout settings are at more than 20 minutes, local network settings are often shorter and these local settings override the DHEW server settings.

    To avoid losing any of the data you have entered, please save your work at least every five minutes. If you receive a time out message, simply log back into the site with your username and password and resume your work.

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  18. What happens after we submit/finalize our worksite's DHEW assessment?

    When you finalize your assessment, a series of automated edit checks will be performed to make sure you provided complete answers to all questions. Errors will be flagged so that you can easily find the questions that need to be corrected.

    Immediately after successful electronic submission/finalization of your DHEW assessment, you will get an on-screen confirmation. Shortly thereafter, you will receive an email (sent to the email address for the primary contact) reconfirming the finalization of your assessment and providing further information.

    After you have submitted/finalized your DHEW assessment, your worksite will receive a detailed feedback report based on the information it provided on their assessment. Only worksites who complete and submit/finalize an assessment will receive this report.

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  19. Who do we contact if we have further questions?

    Visit the contact us page to find out how to reach us by phone, email, fax or U.S. mail. Please don't hesitate to contact us to get answers to your remaining questions. We appreciate your interest in the Designing Healthy Environments at Work assessment tool!

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Presented by the Michigan Healthy Communities Collaborative