Best Practices in Evaluating Worksite Health Promotion Programs

TLDR

Program evaluation is increasingly viewed as a best practice for worksite health promotion, especially as health‑care reform raises the stakes for effective workplace health initiatives. Using Volvo’s health‑promotion program, the authors illustrate a comprehensive evaluation framework—centered on a dashboard of nine metrics—to satisfy senior‑management accountability and deliver stakeholder value.

Abstract

Program evaluation is generally recognized as a "best practice" activity for worksite health promotion programs. The importance of "best practice" worksite health promotion programming is increasing with the stakes anticipated by health care reform. Volvo's health promotion activities are used as an example of "best practice" programming with a particular focus on creating a dashboard of evaluation metrics that can meet the accountability needs of senior management. The role of a comprehensive evaluation framework using nine components is explored along with reasonable expectations for program outcomes. Finally, stakeholder utility from the evaluation approach is explored.