The race to connected health: Benchmark your strategy for 2026
Health support works best when it feels like a single, connected journey rather than a list of isolated perks.
When prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation work together, employees get the personalised care they need, and employers see real impact and value from their health strategy.
The desire for more greater integration
Although fewer than one in 10 (9%) respondents to REBA’s Health and Wellbeing Research 2026, together with AXA Health, report that they have integrated health benefits into a single continuous journey, advances in technology, plus a growing emphasis on prevention, is increasing momentum in this direction.
Better integration makes services and benefits more visible and accessible to employees, improving the experience and supporting good outcomes.
Health challenges rarely exist in a vacuum. By joining the dots across different benefits, a physical health issue can be treated alongside sleep support, dietary guidance, and emotional care, ensuring employees feel fully supported from every angle.
Greater accessibility
Wherever an employee enters the health system, joined-up care ensures they get the exact support they need straight away. Quick, targeted help leads to faster recoveries, less time off work, and more manageable benefit costs overall.
The research looks at which areas employers currently connect as part of an integrated health offer. While well-established areas like mental health support are widely joined up, longer-term health conditions are still far less likely to be part of an integrated framework.
Get the full REBA Health and Wellbeing research 2026 to access actionable benchmarks, digital implementation roadmaps, and the exact steps to build a high-value health ecosystem.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, REBA
Supporting the reward and benefits community to pursue best practice and drive excellence in their strategies
