The Steps Program recognizes that health is the product of multiple levels of influence.  Steps uses the Socio-Ecological Model in its programming; the model looks at all factors that influence an individual’s behavior including the individual, interpersonal relationships such as family and friends, organizational elements such as social institutions, the community, and public policy.

Individuals are ultimately responsible for the lifestyles choices they make related to health.  However, the systems that surround the individual impact and determine his or her behavior choices. 

For this reason, the Steps Program works with community, school, workplace and healthcare settings.  By focusing on these settings, Steps programs focus on the many levels of influence on an individual’s health. 

• The worksite is an appealing setting for addressing the problem of chronic disease risk factors and risk behaviors such as obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, and cigarette smoking.  Worksite interventions have the potential to reach large numbers of people at low cost who might not seek professional help on their own.  Worksites are natural locations in which both social and physical environments may be used to influence behavior change.  Research has found that comprehensive worksite health promotion programs can be both clinically effective and cost-effective.

• Steps works to implement programming in the worksites to help address physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco use and exposure.

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