Dataset Information

The Workplace Support for Health Scale: Reliability and Validity of a Brief Scale to Measure Employee Perceptions of Wellness.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To examine the reliability and validity of a brief measure (the Workplace Support for Health [WSH] scale) to assess employees' perceived support for a healthy lifestyle.

Design

Repeated cross-sectional surveys.

Setting

We collected employer- and employee-level survey data from small, low-wage workplaces in King County, WA enrolled in a randomized controlled trial.

Sample

We analyzed data from 68 workplaces that had 2,820 and 2,640 employees complete surveys at baseline and 15 months, respectively.

Measures

The WSH scale consisted of five items. To assess validity, we examined associations between the WSH scale and employer implementation of evidence-based interventions for health promotion, employee self-rated health, and job satisfaction.

Analysis

We performed an exploratory factor analysis to assess the unidimensionality of the WSH scale items, and produced Cronbach's alpha coefficients to examine scale reliability. We ran regression models using generalized estimating equations to examine validity.

Results

The factor analysis indicated one factor, which accounted for 59% of the total variance in the workplace support for health items. The scale had good reliability at baseline (? = 0.82) and 15 months (? = 0.83). Employer evidence-based intervention implementation was positively associated with WSH. WSH was also associated with higher self-rated health and job satisfaction. These associations indicate good concurrent validity.

Conclusion

The WSH scale is a reliable and valid measure of perceived workplace support for health. Employers can use the scale to identify gaps in support and create a plan for improvement.

SUBMITTER: Kava CM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7870498 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The Workplace Support for Health Scale: Reliability and Validity of a Brief Scale to Measure Employee Perceptions of Wellness.

Kava Christine M CM Passey Debbie D Harris Jeffrey R JR Chan Kwun C Gary KCG Hannon Peggy A PA

American journal of health promotion : AJHP 20200818 2

<h4>Purpose</h4>To examine the reliability and validity of a brief measure (the Workplace Support for Health [WSH] scale) to assess employees' perceived support for a healthy lifestyle.<h4>Design</h4>Repeated cross-sectional surveys.<h4>Setting</h4>We collected employer- and employee-level survey data from small, low-wage workplaces in King County, WA enrolled in a randomized controlled trial.<h4>Sample</h4>We analyzed data from 68 workplaces that had 2,820 and 2,640 employees complete surveys a ...[more]

PMID: 32808553

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundFew measures capture the complex symptoms and concerns of those receiving palliative care.AimTo validate the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale, a measure underpinned by extensive psychometric development, by evaluating its validity, reliability and responsiveness to change.DesignConcurrent, cross-cultural validation study of the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale - both (1) patient self-report and (2) staff proxy-report versions. We tested construct validity (factor analysis, known-group comparisons, and correlational analysis), reliability (internal consistency, agreement, and test-retest reliability), and responsiveness (through longitudinal evaluation of change).Setting/participantsIn all, 376 adults receiving palliative care, and 161 clinicians, from a range of settings in the United Kingdom and Germany.ResultsWe confirm a three-factor structure (Physical Symptoms, Emotional Symptoms and Communication/Practical Issues). Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale shows strong ability to distinguish between clinically relevant groups; total Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale and Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale subscale scores were higher - reflecting more problems - in those patients with 'unstable' or 'deteriorating' versus 'stable' Phase of Illness (F = 15.1, p < 0.001). Good convergent and discriminant validity to hypothesised items and subscales of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General is demonstrated. The Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale shows good internal consistency (α = 0.77) and acceptable to good test-retest reliability (60% of items kw > 0.60). Longitudinal validity in form of responsiveness to change is good.ConclusionThe Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale is a valid and reliable outcome measure, both in patient self-report and staff proxy-report versions. It can assess and monitor symptoms and concerns in advanced illness, determine the impact of healthcare interventions, and demonstrate quality of care. This represents a major step forward internationally for palliative care outcome measurement.

Project description:ImportanceEmployers have increasingly invested in workplace wellness programs to improve employee health and decrease health care costs. However, there is little experimental evidence on the effects of these programs.ObjectiveTo evaluate a multicomponent workplace wellness program resembling programs offered by US employers.Design, setting, and participantsThis clustered randomized trial was implemented at 160 worksites from January 2015 through June 2016. Administrative claims and employment data were gathered continuously through June 30, 2016; data from surveys and biometrics were collected from July 1, 2016, through August 31, 2016.InterventionsThere were 20 randomly selected treatment worksites (4037 employees) and 140 randomly selected control worksites (28 937 employees, including 20 primary control worksites [4106 employees]). Control worksites received no wellness programming. The program comprised 8 modules focused on nutrition, physical activity, stress reduction, and related topics implemented by registered dietitians at the treatment worksites.Main outcomes and measuresFour outcome domains were assessed. Self-reported health and behaviors via surveys (29 outcomes) and clinical measures of health via screenings (10 outcomes) were compared among 20 intervention and 20 primary control sites; health care spending and utilization (38 outcomes) and employment outcomes (3 outcomes) from administrative data were compared among 20 intervention and 140 control sites.ResultsAmong 32 974 employees (mean [SD] age, 38.6 [15.2] years; 15 272 [45.9%] women), the mean participation rate in surveys and screenings at intervention sites was 36.2% to 44.6% (n = 4037 employees) and at primary control sites was 34.4% to 43.0% (n = 4106 employees) (mean of 1.3 program modules completed). After 18 months, the rates for 2 self-reported outcomes were higher in the intervention group than in the control group: for engaging in regular exercise (69.8% vs 61.9%; adjusted difference, 8.3 percentage points [95% CI, 3.9-12.8]; adjusted P = .03) and for actively managing weight (69.2% vs 54.7%; adjusted difference, 13.6 percentage points [95% CI, 7.1-20.2]; adjusted P = .02). The program had no significant effects on other prespecified outcomes: 27 self-reported health outcomes and behaviors (including self-reported health, sleep quality, and food choices), 10 clinical markers of health (including cholesterol, blood pressure, and body mass index), 38 medical and pharmaceutical spending and utilization measures, and 3 employment outcomes (absenteeism, job tenure, and job performance).Conclusions and relevanceAmong employees of a large US warehouse retail company, a workplace wellness program resulted in significantly greater rates of some positive self-reported health behaviors among those exposed compared with employees who were not exposed, but there were no significant differences in clinical measures of health, health care spending and utilization, and employment outcomes after 18 months. Although limited by incomplete data on some outcomes, these findings may temper expectations about the financial return on investment that wellness programs can deliver in the short term.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03167658.

Project description:The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) has been validated in high-income countries but not yet in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to assess the reliability of the SRS in a community sample and its validity to discriminate between children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Vietnam. We used a three-phase study: piloting the translated SRS, reliability testing, and validation of the SRS in 158 Vietnamese caretakers and their children (ages 4-9 years). We examined reliability, validity and sensitivity, and specificity to ASD diagnosis. We applied receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine optimal cutoff scores discriminating the children with ASD from those without ASD. We also assessed the performance of the SRS short form. We found that reliability was good with high internal consistency (0.88-0.89), test-retest reliability (0.82-0.83), sensitivity (93%), and specificity (98%) for identification of children with ASD. The ROC curves were similar for total raw score and total T-score, with the area under the curve (AUC) values reaching 0.98 and the optimal cutoff of 62 for raw scores and 60 for T-scores. The SRS short form also performed well in distinguishing children with ASD from children without ASD, with high AUC (0.98), sensitivity (90%), and specificity (98%) when using a raw score of 15 as a cutoff. In conclusion, the translated and culturally adapted SRS shows good reliability, validity, and sensitivity for identification of children with ASD in Vietnam. Both SRS long and short forms performed adequately to discriminate between children with and without ASD. Autism Res 2019, 00: 1-13. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Middle-income countries often lack validated tools to evaluate autism symptoms. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) translated to Vietnamese was reliable and performed well to distinguish between children with and without autism spectrum disorder in Vietnam. The Vietnamese SRS, and translations of the tool to other languages with this methodology, may be useful in pediatric practice, potentially allowing providers to make more appropriate referrals for diagnostic evaluations and identify children for intervention to help them fulfill their developmental potential.

Project description:ImportanceMany employers use workplace wellness programs to improve employee health and reduce medical costs, but randomized evaluations of their efficacy are rare.ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of a comprehensive workplace wellness program on employee health, health beliefs, and medical use after 12 and 24 months.Design, setting, and participantsThis randomized clinical trial of 4834 employees of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was conducted from August 9, 2016, to April 26, 2018. Members of the treatment group (n = 3300) received incentives to participate in the workplace wellness program. Members of the control group (n = 1534) did not participate in the wellness program. Statistical analysis was performed on April 9, 2020.InterventionsThe 2-year workplace wellness program included financial incentives and paid time off for annual on-site biometric screenings, annual health risk assessments, and ongoing wellness activities (eg, physical activity, smoking cessation, and disease management).Main outcomes and measuresMeasures taken at 12 and 24 months included clinician-collected biometrics (16 outcomes), administrative claims related to medical diagnoses (diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia) and medical use (office visits, inpatient visits, and emergency department visits), and self-reported health behaviors and health beliefs (14 outcomes).ResultsAmong the 4834 participants (2770 women; mean [SD] age, 43.9 [11.3] years), no significant effects of the program on biometrics, medical diagnoses, or medical use were seen after 12 or 24 months. A significantly higher proportion of employees in the treatment group than in the control group reported having a primary care physician after 24 months (1106 of 1200 [92.2%] vs 477 of 554 [86.1%]; adjusted P = .002). The intervention significantly improved a set of employee health beliefs on average: participant beliefs about their chance of having a body mass index greater than 30, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and impaired glucose level jointly decreased by 0.07 SDs (95% CI, -0.12 to -0.01 SDs; P = .02); however, effects on individual belief measures were not significant.Conclusions and relevanceThis randomized clinical trial showed that a comprehensive workplace wellness program had no significant effects on measured physical health outcomes, rates of medical diagnoses, or the use of health care services after 24 months, but it increased the proportion of employees reporting that they have a primary care physician and improved employee beliefs about their own health.Trial registrationAmerican Economic Association Randomized Controlled Trial Registry number: AEARCTR-0001368.

Project description:BackgroundThe evaluation of respiratory system health status in hospitalized patients is usually based on many laboratory examinations and imaging examinations. Medical examinations require a lot of manpower, material resources, financial resources, and may cause a certain degree of mechanical damage and radiation damage. It is not easily used widely and economically to assess the respiratory health status of community adults. Therefore, researchers developed a brief adult respiratory system health status scale-community version (BARSHSS-CV) and tested its reliability and validity.MethodsUsing clinical characteristics and pathogenic factors of respiratory system diseases as a theoretical basis and through reference to relevant literature, researchers developed an initial scale. A randomized cluster sampling strategy was used to recruit adults in the communities of Baoding City, Shijiazhuang City, Cangzhou city and Chifeng City in China. Researchers randomly selected 1 district from each city. Subsequently, 4 communities were respectively randomly selected from 4 districts. Then, researchers conducted the questionnaire survey in 4 communities. Finally, researchers investigated 615 community adults. 584 valid questionnaires were recovered. By applying exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, content validity index, Cronbach's ? coefficient, mean inter-item correlation coefficient and test-retest reliability, researchers tested the reliability and validity of scale and created the final BARSHSS-CV.ResultsBARSHSS-CV Cronbach's ?=0.951, content validity?=?0.933, test-retest reliability?=?0.963 and factor cumulative contribution rate?=?67.168% by exploratory factor analysis. By confirmatory factor analysis, Chi square value (?2) was 442.117, degrees of freedom (df) was 161, Chi square value/degrees of freedom (?2 /df) was 2.746, root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) was 0.065, goodness of fit index (GFI) was 0.902, incremental fit index (IFI) was 0.955, comparative fit index (CFI) was 0.955, normed fit index (NFI) was 0.931, Tueker-Lewis index (TLI) was 0.947. BARSHSS-CV consisted of 20 items and 3 dimensions.ConclusionsBARSHSS-CV with good test-retest reliability and content/construct validity is a brief and economical tool for assessing the state of respiratory system amongst adult communities. BARSHSS-CV may help medical staff in community primary medical institutions quickly, conveniently and economically assess the status of respiratory system and the main problems of respiratory system in community adults.

Dataset Information

The Workplace Support for Health Scale: Reliability and Validity of a Brief Scale to Measure Employee Perceptions of Wellness.

Purpose

Design

Setting

Sample

Measures

Analysis

Results

Conclusion

Publications

The Workplace Support for Health Scale: Reliability and Validity of a Brief Scale to Measure Employee Perceptions of Wellness.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets