Evaluation of an online health promotion program for vocational rehabilitation consumers.

Purpose/objective: The purpose of this study was to test the comparative effectiveness of three variations of an online-based health promotion program for improving health and employment outcomes in a sample of Vocational Rehabilitation consumers.

Research Method/design: A total of 222 VR consumers participated in a randomized trial of three health promotion variations and provided baseline, 2-, 4-, and 6-month data. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. The three health promotion variations included (a) FACTSHEETS-a series of four electronic factsheets; (b) HPE-an online interactive health promotion website that included health behavior content and tailored action planning, and (c) HPE + MI-the online health promotion website plus two 30-minute calls with a trained motivational interviewer.

Results: Contrary to expectations, evidence did not support between-group differences based on intervention intensity. In fact, the Factsheet, HPE, and HPE + MI participants all experienced significant reductions in secondary conditions, F(2.85, 489) = 7.808, p < .001, HRQoL symptom days, F(2.7, 495) = 4.795, p = .004; and significant improvements in healthy lifestyle behaviors, F(2.6, 495) = 3.66, p = .017 over the 6-month study period. Although this study did not include a control group, a control group from another study with a similar population did not experience similar outcomes.

Conclusion/implications: People with disabilities experience significantly higher rates of secondary health conditions and lower employment rates than people without disabilities. The combination of these factors signifies the need for health promotion programming outside the work setting.