The Rationale: “Drop Work and Work It Out”
Objective: Improving the health of people in the work environment
In today’s society, 63% of Americans are employed in the United States (Mui, 2013). Peoples’ careers fall into the categories of: agriculture and mining, software and internet services, financial services, construction, retail, medical services, food and drinking services, transportation, or other services (Smith, 2012) . Due to these high demanding jobs, it is assumed that stress is easily triggered. Common job stressors in Americans emerge from poor compensation, hostile work environment, long hours, heavy workload, and poor pay (Weiss, 2009). An accumulation of prolonged job-related stress can drastically impact one’s health physically and mentally. Stressful jobs decrease mental energy and people are less inclined to do activities after work. Job stress frequently causes burnouts, a condition marked by emotional exhaustion and negative or cynical attitudes toward others and yourself(Weiss, 2009). Furthermore, burnouts can lead to depression, which, in turn, has been linked to a variety of health concerns such as obesity, heart disease, and depression (Weiss, 2009). Constant preoccupation with job responsibilities also leads to poor and erratic eating habits and physical inactivity, which results in common health problems previously stated.
Obesity is a complex disorder involving excessive body fat. It is closely linked with heart disease and diabetes. Obesity accounts for more than one-third of America’s population (Ogden, 2014). People are diagnosed with obesity usually through a BMI. According to Mayo Clinic, although obesity can be genetic, it can be caused by behavioral influences and hormones. It occurs when you take in more calories than you burn through exercise or normal daily activities.
The body stores these excess amount of calories as fat. Obesity is highly caused by unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity. In addition, cardiovascular disease, also known as, heart disease is the condition of narrowed or blocked arteries that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. It can also cause irregular heartbeats. The main cause of heart disease is poor diet. Many forms of heart disease can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle choices.
Diabetes is a cluster of diseases that affect one’s blood sugar levels. In other words, there is too much glucose in your blood. People who suffer from diabetes, their pancreas have trouble producing insulin or their body cells are resistive to insulin. As a result, there is a concentration of high sugar levels in the blood.Constantly consuming food or drinks high in sugar can lead to diabetes. Diabetes is a lifelong disease affecting 18. 2 million Americans according to WebMD.
I decided to use my job as the place to perform my needs assessment. I work at the Sporting Club in the Voorhees Town Center. I asked my coworkers and a few members of the gym who are employed at different facilities to fill out a questionnaire to figure out what they needed. On the questionnaire I asked questions on the topics of healthy diets and physical activity. The questionnaire is located in Appendix A.
I asked two of my coworkers and eight members of the gym during my shift of work on February 13, 2016 at approximately 12:30pm. The questions consisted of how often they use the gym and what they ate in their diet. About two-thirds claim they do not eat healthy because they do not have time due to a busy day at work. Also, only a few members use the gym daily. A handful of people reported that they do not use the gym everyday due to lack of energy after work.
My goal is to work with the employees and the gym members to help them improve physical activity and nutrition. I would like to gather my coworkers and members of the gym to give a presentation on how to live a healthy lifestyle. In the lecture, to have a session where I can elaborate on how to live a healthy lifestyle and also a Q&A. I plan to elaborate on what a healthy diet consists of, how to avoid fatigue after work, and also how to build self-motivation.
Goals, Objectives, and Evaluation
Goal 1:To increase the energy level among the participants.
Process1: Give a presentation on how to increase the energy level of the participants.
Process 2:Give the employees an hour to answer their questions about what they can do to overcome their personal objections.
Evaluation: Record that the procedure took place and the attendance.
Impact:Increase the participant’s perception of having more energy by 20%.
Impact: Increase their knowledge on how a healthy lifestyle is related to energy.
Evaluation: In order to know that my participants are understanding the material of increasing energy, I will give them a quiz to check their understanding. (See Appendix B)
Outcome:The employees will decrease their rate of absences by 10% because they’re feeling moreenergetic.
Outcome: Decrease their risk of obesity by 20%.
Evaluation: Check the body mass index of the participants before the program and after one year to see progression.
Goal 2: Increase people’s motivation so that the participants attend the gym more often throughout the week.
Process 1:Offer two fun group fitness classes a week to get the participants exercising more often.
Process 2:Once a week, send one picture and one quote via email to participants.
Evaluation:Record the classes that took place and the attendance of the participants.
Impact: Increase participant’s motivation to attend the gym by 30%.
Impact:100% of participants will set reminders on their phone to attend the gym.
Evaluation:In order to see the progression of how motivated the participants are, they will answer a post questionnaire. At posttest, they will answer how motivate they feel and if they set the reminders on their phone.
Outcome: The participants will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 40%.
Outcome:The participants are 10% less likely to become obese.
Evaluation:Check participant’s cholesterol, blood pressure, lipids, BMI and heart rate before the program and post program to access their level of risk. Also I will check to see how motivated the participants feel.
Program Description and Theory Base
The theory that I have decided to incorporate for my program is the Transtheoretical Model. The model is an integrative framework for understanding how individuals and populations progress toward adopting and maintaining a health behavior change for optimal health.The Transtheoretical model uses stages of change to integrate processes and principles of change for people. The reason I am using the Transtheoretical model for the clients is because majority of the people are in the contemplation stage. I was able to depict that information after performing the needs assessment. My target population is a mixture of young and older women between the ages of 20 and 55.My program is primary an educational program that will educate employees on how to boost their energy levels to perform physical activity as well as increase their motivation to attend the gym, especially after work. I believe through this program, it will help lower any health complications such as diabetes, heart disease, or obesity.
To execute my program, I will have a series of lectures with a duration of 60 minutes taking place every Saturday morning for the next five weeks. The lectures will explain how to increase the energy level of the participants as well as explaining ways to increase people’s motivation so that the participants attend the gym more often throughout the week. I will also email motivational quotes every day for the next five week to get the participants more active. I will also provide questionnaire in order to receive feedback on how the program is going for the participants.
Stages of Change:
Precontemplation (Not Ready)
People in the precontemplation stage do not intend to take action in the foreseeable future, usually measured as the next six months.
Contemplation (Getting Ready)
Contemplation is the stage in which people intend to change in the next six months.
Preparation (Ready)
Preparation is the stage in which people intend to take action in the immediate future, usually measured as the next month.
Action
Action is the stage in which people have made specific overt modifications in their lifestyles within the past six months.
Maintenance
Maintenance is the stage in which people have made specific overt modifications in their lifestyles and are working to prevent relapse
Appendix A
Questions for Participants
- Do you understand what a healthy diet is?
- Yes
- No
- Do you feel as if you have a healthy diet?
- Yes
- No
- If you answered no to the above question, please circle one of the following reasons that fits you best:
- Lack of motivation
- Not enough time to meal prep
- Too expensive
- Do you understand what it takes to be physically fit?
- Yes
- No
- Do you consider yourself physically fit?
- Yes
- No
- If you say no, which of the following reasons fits you?
- Lack of energy
- Not enough time
- Lack of motivation
- How much time do you spend at the gym?
- Less than 20 minutes
- 30-45 minutes
- 1 hour
- >1 hour
Appendix B
Samples of Evaluation
How many people attended the lecture of increasing energy?
How motivated are you to attend the gym more frequently?Scale between 1-10
Quiz
- Name 2 factors that will improve energy levels?
- What category of food has the highest amount of energy expenditure?
- How many hours of sleep is required to have a sufficient amount of energy throughout the day?
Body Mass Index
What is your current BMI? ______
What do you hope your BMI will be after the program? ______
Post BMI ______
Current Blood pressure______Post Blood Pressure______
Current Heart Rate______Post Heart Rate______
Current Cholesterol______Post Cholesterol______
What classes did you attend this week?
How satisfied are you with the classes? Scale 1-10
Did you set a daily reminder on your phone to attend the gym? Yes or No
Mui, Y. Q. (2013, September 6). Unemployment dips to 7.3 percent, but only 63% of Americans are in labor force. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from
Smith, J. (2012, February 9). The Happiest and Unhappiest Industries to Work In. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from
Weiss, S. (2009, April 5). Mind/Body Health: Job Stress. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from