Impact of a translated disease self-management program on employee health and productivity: Six-month findings from a randomized controlled trial

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 (uD = 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.