Impact of a Translated Disease Self-Management Program on Employee Health and Productivity: Six-Month Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Matthew Smith,Kate Lorig,Heather Padilla,David Dejoy,Melissa Robertson,Heather Zuercher,Diana Laurent,Mark Wilson,Robert Vandenberg,Phaedra Corso

doi:10.3390/ijerph15050851

Abstract

Disease management is gaining importance in workplace health promotion given the aging workforce and rising chronic disease prevalence. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) is an effective intervention widely offered in diverse community settings; however, adoption remains low in workplace settings. As part of a larger NIH-funded randomized controlled trial, this study examines the effectiveness of a worksite-tailored version of CDSMP (wCDSMP [n = 72]) relative to CDSMP (‘Usual Care’ [n = 109]) to improve health and work performance among employees with one or more chronic conditions. Multiple-group latent-difference score models with sandwich estimators were fitted to identify changes from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Overall, participants were primarily female (87%), non-Hispanic white (62%), and obese (73%). On average, participants were age 48 (range: 23–72) and self-reported 3.25 chronic conditions (range: 1–16). The most commonly reported conditions were high cholesterol (45%), high blood pressure (45%), anxiety/emotional/mental health condition (26%), and diabetes (25%). Among wCDSMP participants, significant improvements were observed for physically unhealthy days (uΔ = −2.07, p = 0.018), fatigue (uΔ = −2.88, p = 0.002), sedentary behavior (uΔ = −4.49, p = 0.018), soda/sugar beverage consumption (uΔ = −0.78, p = 0.028), and fast food intake (uΔ = −0.76, p = 0.009) from baseline to follow-up. Significant improvements in patient–provider communication (uΔ = 0.46, p = 0.031) and mental work limitations (uΔ = −8.89, p = 0.010) were also observed from baseline to follow-up. Relative to Usual Care, wCDSMP participants reported significantly larger improvements in fatigue, physical activity, soda/sugar beverage consumption, and mental work limitations (p < 0.05). The translation of Usual Care (content and format) has potential to improve health among employees with chronic conditions and increase uptake in workplace settings.

Highlights

Organizations understand the importance of a healthy, engaged, and productive workforce
Employees with chronic diseases were selected as participants because of their first-hand experiences living and working with a chronic condition as well as their experience participating in health promotion activities at work
Study of Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) (i.e., 50.0 years compared to 67.0 years), the current study supports the benefits of disease self-management skills for improving health and indicates that the worksite translation of CDSMP is associated with health benefits among a younger employed population living with chronic conditions

Summary

Introduction

Organizations understand the importance of a healthy, engaged, and productive workforce. Workplace health promotion initiatives have the potential to improve employee health, increase worker productivity, and decrease healthcare costs [6,7,8,9]. In a multi-employer study examining direct and indirect healthcare-related costs and self-reported productivity among employees, obesity, arthritis, back pain, and depression were identified being among the top five most expensive health conditions [10]. While the rising prevalence of chronic conditions among working-age adults reinforces the need to increase disease self-management interventions, less is known about the best strategies to deliver and diffuse effective evidence-based disease management programs to employees in workplace settings

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion