Measuring Program Results

Information to evaluate your program comes from regularly collected evaluation and follow-up data of your program that look at process and outcomes of your program. The Worker Health 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 Evaluation

Process evaluation looks at the Corporate Wellness ’s effect as seen at various points in time. Information that is gathered from the various forms that wellness staff members fill out ought to supply you with the following:

• How many staff members were screened?
• How many staff members who were referred to a doctor went?
• How many staff members who expressed interest in health improvement programs went?
• How many staff members who were referred to health improvement programs went?
• How many staff members who went to health improvement programs completed them?
• How many staff members are in follow-up caseload?

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

Outcome Evaluation

A central goal of the program is to better the health of staff members. Information on how to judge how well your program is meeting this goal is called “outcome evaluation” because you are evaluating the end results or outcome of your program. In wellness programs, objectives are gauged by specific (outcomes) behavior changes and reductions in health risk levels. Have staff members lowered their Blood Pressure (BP)? Have they lost weight? Are they working out more? Is alcohol consumption at a safe level? For example these are the types of questions you can ask to learn if you are reaching your objectives:

• For staff members with high Blood Pressure (BP) (140 / 90 or higher or on medication) at evaluation, what percentage have it under control (below 140 / 90) a year later?
• What is the modification in average Blood Pressure (BP) levels among all staff members with high Blood Pressure (BP) 1 year after evaluation? 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 modification in average cholesterol levels among all staff members with high and borderline-high blood cholesterol levels 1 year after evaluation? Two years later?
• For staff members who were overweight at evaluation, what percentage have lost 20 pounds or more a year later? Ten pounds or more? What is the average weight loss?
• For staff members who were smokers at evaluation, what percentages have quit smoking? For at least a year?
• For staff members whose level of alcohol consumption put them at-risk at evaluation, what percentage have quit drinking alcohol? Are consuming alcohol at levels considered safe by CDC standard procedures? Have reduced their drinking, but are still at-risk?
• For staff members, what percentages are working out at least three times a week for at least 20 minutes?
• If fitness levels were gauged, what percentages have improved fitness?

Set a regular time such as every 6 months to look at which staff members your program is reaching and how effective it is at helping them lower their health risks. Use this information to make new decisions about how to direct your program efforts. Then make the modification you need to better your program. Some may feel that evaluation is an extravagance; it is not. Screening is a crucial part of a wellness program. You will need to know what is working and what is not. Decision-makers who fund the program need to be updated on the success of the program. Evaluation will provide you with crucial data to maintain and expand the program and convince management to continue to support the program.