Assessment of Worksite Health and Wellness Programs
It is important to measure the effectiveness of all Worksite Health and Wellness Programs. There are a number of very simple ways to measure Worksite Health and Wellness Programs:
How many attended the corporate health and Worksite Health and Wellness Program, and was there participation or a visible level of interest?
Use a short and simple pen and paper assessment that people fill out at the end of the Worksite Health and Wellness Program /seminar. Statements that are rated on a scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree) will give valuable information. Ask about:
• The value of the Worksite Health and Wellness Programs to the individual
• The style of the presenter
• The presenter’s knowledge of the topic
• The level of knowledge gained by the worker
• Other areas that would be of interest for future Worksite Health and Wellness Programs
Examples of Questions about Worksite Health and Wellness Programs
• This program provided me with information and/or skills I will use.
• The presenter was knowledgeable about the subject matter.
• There was adequate time for questions.
• The methods used to present the information were effective.
Open-ended questions about Worksite Health and Wellness Programs may include:
• The best component of this Worksite Health and Wellness Program was…
• The component that needed improvement was….
• I would attend another Worksite Health and Wellness Program by this speaker…
• Topics I would like to see included in other seminars or Wellness Programs…
This would be a process assessment that examines how well the Worksite Health and Wellness Programs were started. It is also important to look at health outcomes and cost outcomes of Worksite Health and Wellness Programs.
More in-depth information about the cost-effectiveness of Worksite Health and Wellness Programs can be found by analyzing data before and after Worksite Health and Wellness Programs concerning medical care claims, workers’ comp claims, sick time, productivity levels, etc. Health outcomes for Worksite Health and Wellness Programs can be measured by looking at health claims and sick time.
It is also important to look at the impact of Worksite Health and Wellness Programs on family members. For example, smoking by pregnant mothers may lead to the birth of a severely impaired child. This could cost an employer or health plan hundreds of thousands of dollars, an expense that could have been avoided with well-designed Worksite Health and Wellness Programs.
You can also compare the cost per worker of running the Worksite Health and Wellness Programs to the savings per worker. One assessment of Worksite Health and Wellness Programs involving 20,000 to 25,000 workers at New York City-based Citibank showed a return of $6.70 for every dollar the company invested in Worksite Health and Wellness Programs. The findings were based on a study of health costs and rates of absenteeism.1
An ongoing assessment of your Worksite Health and Wellness Programs should be performed each year and additional periodic evaluations of Worksite Health and Wellness Programs should be conducted on an ad hoc basis. An ad hoc assessment of your Worksite Health and Wellness Programs might be initiated by a variety of triggers. For example, at the end of flu season, a company might want to measure its flu shot program.
