Workplace wellness programmes for non-communicable diseases are implemented to enhance employee health. A notable South African study in a manufacturing setting reported substantial productivity improvements from a hypertension-focused programme. Independent replication is required to assess the generalisability of these findings. This replication study aimed to evaluate the impact of a workplace hypertension wellness programme on worker productivity in a similar South African manufacturing context. The primary objective was to measure changes in absenteeism and presenteeism following the intervention. The study was conducted at a manufacturing plant in Addis Ababa, South Africa. The intervention replicated the original programme, consisting of systematic hypertension screening, lifestyle education, and treatment referral. A pre-post design was employed, analysing anonymised administrative data on absenteeism and self-reported presenteeism scores for a worker cohort over a comparable period. In contrast to the original study, this replication found no statistically significant improvement in the primary productivity measures. Absenteeism rates showed minimal change. Self-reported presenteeism scores demonstrated a non-significant trend towards improvement. A secondary finding was a high screening uptake, with a notable proportion of the workforce identified with previously undiagnosed hypertension. The replicated intervention did not produce the productivity benefits reported in the original study within this specific setting. This indicates that the effect of such wellness programmes on productivity may be less generalisable and potentially influenced by unmeasured contextual or operational factors. Future research should investigate the contextual determinants influencing programme outcomes. Organisations should consider health outcomes as primary alongside economic metrics when appraising workplace wellness initiatives. Programme design requires tailoring to local workforce profiles and operational conditions. replication study, workplace wellness, hypertension, productivity, absenteeism, presenteeism, South Africa This study provides a critical replication of earlier research, offering evidence that the productivity impacts of a hypertension wellness programme may not be consistently realised across similar settings. It underscores the importance of context in programme evaluation.
Khumalo et al. (Wed,) studied this question.