Health Promotion : Measuring Employee Wellness Program Results.

Information to evaluate your program comes from routinely accumulated screening and follow-up data of your program that look at process and outcomes of your program.

The Worker Medical Program has available a computerized case-management system which includes queries that allow easy assessment of process and outcome results at any point in time.

Employee Wellness Program Process Evaluation

Process investigation looks at the program’s impact as seen at various points in time.

Information that is gathered from the various forms that wellness employees fill out should supply you with the following -

• How many workers were screened?

• How many workers who were referred to a doctor went?

• How many staff members who expressed interest in health betterment programs went?

• How many employees who were referred to health betterment programs went?

• How many workers who went to health improvement programs completed them?

• How many workers are in follow-up caseload?

You can use this kind of process evaluation to evaluate and learn about the health of your program.

Employee Wellness Program Outcome Investigation

A central objective of the program is to improve the health of employees . Information on how to judge how well your program is meeting this objective is called “outcome evaluation ” because you’re reviewing the end results or outcome of your program.

In Corporate Health Promotion Programs, objectives are measured by specific (outcomes) behavior changes and reductions in health risk levels. Have workers reduced their blood pressure? Have they lost weight? Are they exercising more? Is alcohol consumption at a safe level? For example these are the types of questions you are able to ask to find out if you are reaching your objectives -  

• For employees with high blood pressure (140 / 90 or higher or on medication) at screening, what percentage have it under control (below 140 / 90) a year later?

• What’s the change in average blood pressure levels among all workers with high blood pressure 1 year after screening? Two years later?

• For staff members with high blood cholesterol levels (above 240) at screening, what percentage has reduced their cholesterol to borderline-high levels (200-239)?

• For staff members with borderline-high blood cholesterol levels, what percentages have reduced their cholesterol to the desirable range (below 200)?

• What is the change in typical cholesterol levels among all staff members with high and borderline-high blood cholesterol levels 1 year after screening? Two years later?

• For employees who were overweight at screening, what percentage have lost 20 pounds or more a year later? Ten pounds or more? What’s the average weight loss?

• For staff members who were smokers at screening, what percentages have quit smoking? For at least a year?

• For workers whose level of alcohol consumption put them at-risk at screening, what percentage have quit drinking alcohol? Are consuming alcohol at levels considered safe by CDC guidelines? Have reduced their drinking, but are still at-risk?

• For staff members , what percentages are exercising at least three times a week for at least 20 minutes?

• If levels of fitness were measured, what percentages have improved fitness?

Be certain to set a regular time such as every 6 months to look at which staff members your program is reaching and how effective it’s at assisting them reduce their health risks. Be certain to use this information to make new decisions about how to direct your program efforts. Then make the change you need to improve your program.

Some might feel that evaluation is a frill; it’s not. Examination is a necessary part of a Corporate Wellness Program. You’ll need to know what’s working and what’s not. Decision-makers who fund the program need to be updated on the performance of the program. Examination will provide you with necessary data to maintain and expand the program and convince management to continue to support the program.