The influence of worksite and employee variables on employee engagement in telephonic health coaching programs: a retrospective multivariate analysis.

PURPOSE: This study assessed 11 determinants of health coaching program participation.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional study design used secondary data to assess the role of six employee-level and five worksite-level variables on telephone-based coaching enrollment, active participation, and completion.

SETTING: Data was provided by a national provider of worksite health promotion program services for employers.

SUBJECTS: A random sample of 34,291 employees from 52 companies was selected for inclusion in the study.

MEASURES: Survey-based measures included age, gender, job type, health risk status, tobacco risk, social support, financial incentives, comprehensive communications, senior leadership support, cultural support, and comprehensive program design.

ANALYSIS: Gender-stratified multivariate logistic regression models were applied using backwards elimination procedures to yield parsimonious prediction models for each of the dependent variables.

RESULTS: Employees were more likely to enroll in coaching programs if they were older, female, and in poorer health, and if they were at worksites with fewer environmental supports for health, clear financial incentives for participation in coaching, more comprehensive communications, and more comprehensive programs. Once employees were enrolled, program completion was greater among those who were older, did not use tobacco, worked at a company with strong communications, and had fewer environmental supports for health.

CONCLUSION: Both worksite-level and employee-level factors have significant influences on health coaching engagement, and there are gender differences in the strength of these predictors.