Global well-being improvement solutions provider, Healthways Inc. (HWAY), and leading management consulting firm, Gallup, released their inaugural analysis of the “State of Global Well-Being” which was initiated in 2013.
The new report, entitled, “State of Global Well-Being: Results of the Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index,” outlines the growing importance of well-being as an indicator of societies’ prosperity and progress. It compares countries across five key elements of well-being, namely, purpose, social, financial, community and physical, and offers strategies for population-based well-being improvement.
Gallup and Healthways possess the unique ability to measure well-being at individual, organization and geographic levels, providing useful data and insights in order to create meaningful change in populations.
Since 2008, Gallup and Healthways have assessed the well-being of U.S. adults via the Well-Being Index, a definitive measure and empiric database of real-time changes in well-being. The Well-Being Index uses a holistic definition of well-being and self-reported data from individuals to create an exclusive view of societies’ progress on the elements that matter most in respect to well-being. With the launch of the Global Well-Being Index, the two companies have formed the most comprehensive measure of well-being in the world.
This latest milestone in the organizations’ six-year partnership establishes a one-of-a-kind well-being dataset and insights to help businesses and governments realize sustainable lifestyle improvements, stronger communities and significant cost savings.
The inaugural “State of Global Well-Being” report contains country and regional rankings, well-being profiles of countries across the globe, industry perspectives on well-being improvement and recommendations for enhanced well-being.
The country with the highest level of overall well-being in the world, as assessed by the percentage of their populations indicating that they are thriving in three or more of the five elements of well-being, is Panama. Notably, U.S. ranks twelfth in global well-being.
In the U.S., improving well-being has clearly led to lower healthcare costs and increased worker productivity, in turn enhancing organizational and community competitiveness. Globally, higher well-being correlates with outcomes indicative of stability and resilience, for example – healthcare utilization, intent to migrate, trust in elections and local institutions, daily stress, food/shelter security, volunteerism and willingness to help strangers.
Zacks Rank
Currently, Healthways carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the medical services sector include Air Methods Corp. (AIRM), ICON Public Limited Company (ICLR) and Envision Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (EVHC). Both Air Methods and ICON sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Envision Healthcare Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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