Comparison of two instruments for needs assessment and evaluation of an employee health promotion program

In order to justify a health promotion program, an accurate needs assessment and evaluation is necessary. The purpose of this study was to determine if the RiskPlan Report (RPR) and the Healthier People Health Risk Appraisal (HPHRA) could be used with an equal degree of confidence for the justification of an employee health promotion program. The percentages of each of seven risk factors (alcohol abuse, hypertension, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and lack of seatbelt use) predicted by the RPR and calculated by the HPHRA for the self-selected sample population were compared. The percentage of alcohol abuse was the only percentage that was not significantly different, indicating that the two instruments cannot be used with an equal degree of confidence. However, a significant correlation was found between the relative incidence of the seven risk factors as measured by both instruments.