Table 2 Insights from company representative interviews

Occupational physicians

• Support of company leadership to enable workplace health is essential

 ° The training offered by Better Hearts Better Cities was highly valued, not only for its materials, tools and themes covered, but also for the peer-to-peer exchanges

• The workplace health program could benefit from more Better Hearts Better Cities training and materials, and in particular:

 ° For occupational physicians: more training on the integrated management of diabetes and metabolic disease, as well as on the prevention and management of overall cardiovascular risk. Simple decision support systems and training on the use of devices for patient follow up (e.g. electrocardiogram and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring) was also found useful

 ° For leadership members: on all NCD risk factors (e.g. including stress)

 ° For employees: on healthier lifestyles and ways to reduce risk

• Regularity and continuity of workplace health activities is key

• The most successful strategies for engaging employees in their own health were reported to be the health education sessions (individual or collective), the regular blood pressure checks and/or medical visits

Management and administrative leadership members

• Including employees in designing workplace health programs is essential to nurture ownership and expand motivation to their peers

• Occupational physicians are perceived as health champions who should have good communication skills, capable of relaying the right information to employees

• Materials should also exist in Wolof, the local language in Senegal

• More guidance for progress and outcome assessments would be appreciated, especially using a standardized set of indicators that can be compared over time and between companies

• A solid action plan with a clear vision for sustainable impact is critical