Information to evaluate your wellness program comes from routinely gathered screening and follow-up data of your wellness program that look at process and outcomes of your program.
The Employee 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.
Process Analysis
Process investigation looks at the wellness 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
o Just how many personnel were screened?
o Just how many staff members who were referred to a physician went?
o Precisely how many workforce who expressed interest in wellness programs went?
o Just how many staff members who were referred to wellness programs went?
o Exactly how many personnel who went to health promotion programs completed them?
o How many staff are in follow-up caseload?
You could use this type of process analysis to evaluate and learn about the health of your wellness program.
Health Promotion Program Outcome Evaluation
A central objective of the wellness program is to increase the health of workforce. Information on how to judge how well your wellness program is meeting this objective is called “outcome examination” because you are analyzing the end results or outcome of your wellness program.
In health promotion programs, goals are measured by specific (outcomes) behavior changes and reductions in health risk levels. Have workforce reduced their blood pressure? Have they lost weight? Are they exercising more? is alcohol consumption at a safe level?
For instance these are the types of questions you are able to ask to find out when you’re reaching your objectives
o For workers with high blood pressure (BP) (140 / 90 or higher or on medication) at screening, what percentage have it under control (below 140 / 90) a year later?
o What is the change in typical blood pressure levels among all workforce with high blood pressure 1 year after screening? Two years later?
o For workers with high blood cholesterol levels (above 240) at screening, what percentage has decreased their cholesterol to borderline-high levels (200-239)?
o For staff members with borderline-high blood cholesterol levels, what percentages have reduced their cholesterol to the desirable range (below 200)?
o What is the change in typical cholesterol levels among all staff with high and borderline-high blood cholesterol levels 1 year after screening? Two years later?
o For personnel 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 reduction?
o For workforce who were smokers at screening, what percentages have quit use of tobacco? for at least a year?
o For employees 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?
o For workers, what percentages are exercising at least three times a week for at least 20 minutes?
o If levels of fitness were measured, what percentages have improved fitness?
Make sure to set a regular time like every 6 months to look at which personnel your wellness program is reaching and how effective it is at assisting them reduce their health risks. Use this information to make new decisions about how to direct your wellness program efforts. Then make the change you need to improve your wellness program.
Some may feel that evaluation is a frill; it is not. Analysis is a necessary part of a wellness program. You’ll need to know what is working and what is not.
Decision-makers who fund the health promotion program need to be updated on the performance of the health promotion program. Evaluation will provide you with necessary data to maintain and expand the health promotion program and convince executive management to continue to support the health promotion program.