Measuring participatory strategies: instrument development for worksite populations

A participatory strategies approach which involves employees in the plannin g and delivery of worksite health promotion programs was utilized in the 55 experimental worksites included in the national, NCI-funded Working Well T rial. According to study protocol, Employee Advisory Boards (EABs) were org anized in each experimental worksite. This paper describes two substudies d esigned to develop and measure participatory strategies associated with the EABs in the Working Well Trial. Study 1 determined characteristics of the EABs, developed subscales and assessed the internal consistency of the scal es. Study 2 used a confirmatory factor analysis to examine the structure of the developed questionnaire. The four subscales include: Autonomy/Independ ence, Management Involvement, Institutionalization/Commitment and Others In volvement. Results from Study 1 indicate that the four subscales of the 24- item instrument demonstrated strong internal consistency and three were sen sitive enough to register differences by Study Center at the baseline. Stud y 2 results found that the EAB subscales again demonstrated good internal c onsistency, structural stability and acceptable sensitivity. An initial val idity analysis was performed and yielded results which supported some but n ot all of the hypothesized associations. Implications for further refinemen t and application of this new instrument in worksite settings are explored.