Graduation Year

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Adult, Career and Higher Education

Major Professor

Waynne B. James, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Liliana Rodriguez-Campos, Ph.D.

Committee Member

William Young, Ed.D.

Committee Member

William I. Campbell, Ph.D.

Keywords

Education, Employee, Fitness, Health, Physcial Activity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of ACME’s worksite weight loss initiative and collect evidence relative to the efficacy of the program. An anonymous online survey was administered to participants of the weight loss initiative. The survey was designed to gather information relative to the research questions, which explored the initiative’s barriers to participation, alignment of initiative with the goals of participants, utilization of initiative resources, overall strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement for the weight loss initiative, as well as the respondents’ general profile for the six dimensions of wellness. Reporting of data included descriptive statistics, which contained means, frequencies, and percentages. Some questions required open-ended responses, which were grouped together to identify trends.

Of the 35 employees enrolled in the initiative, 32 responded to the online survey. Only a small group of participants from the larger pool of members at the worksite were successfully recruited into the weight loss initiative. Some respondents reported feeling intimidated towards the thought of participating in the initiative, which suggests that the weight loss theme may have been a barrier to participation. The majority of respondents identified weight loss as their primary wellness goal for the New Year, which aligned with the decision by the wellness staff to provide a weight loss initiative at the beginning of the year. The majority of respondents felt that the personal training provided by ACME Wellness was a primary resource in facilitating goal achievement.

All of the respondents were satisfied with their experience in the weight loss initiative, and most summarized their experience as challenging, motivating, and fun. Strengths of the weight loss initiative were identified as teamwork, motivational factors, and communication. Weaknesses included organization, participation, and readiness. Areas of improvement were identified as planning, structure, and promotional factors. Respondents scored favorably in the intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of wellness, but not as high in the physical and occupational dimensions. The conclusions of this study suggest that weight loss initiatives can be an effective option for worksites since the design and implementation of such programs assist members in goal achievement.

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