Clinical Economic And Humanistic Evaluation Of A Worksite Health Promotion Program Conducted Among Employees Of A Public University In Malaysia

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Date
2011-10
Authors
Liau, Siow Yen
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
The burden of cardiovascular (CV) diseases is increasing in Malaysia. This has an adverse effect on the country’s health, society and economy. The general objective of this research was to develop an effective and efficient worksite health promotion program that could reduce the cardiovascular risk factors among employees at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Engineering campus. This was a quasiexperimental study conducted between 2009 and 2010. The six-month program consisted of individualized counseling and seminars targeted at five behavioral risk factors (RFs) i.e. smoking, alcohol consumption, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity and overweight/obesity. Individualized counseling was conducted based on Transtheoretical Model principles. Both intervention and control groups were assessed for their current RF status, health-related quality of life and knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors. Validity of the arbitrary global risk score developed from the WHO STEPS instrument for chronic disease risk factors surveillance was assessed against Framingham risk score. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants of the program to explore their perception of the quality and effectiveness of the program. Finally, cost-effectiveness analysis was performed from the payer’s (university) perspective. A total of 136 USM employees were recruited into the study. The predictive, convergent and concurrent validity of the global risk score based on the WHO STEPS instruments for chronic disease risk factors surveillance were confirmed and supported when compared with the 10-year Framingham risk scores. Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity and fasting blood glucose were consistently significantly better in the intervention group as compared to the control group in terms of the mean RF and proportion of participants reaching RF targets.
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Keywords
Worksite health promotion program , conducted among employees of a public university
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