Workplace Outcome Suite
Measuring Workplace Outcomes in EAPs Measuring Workplace Outcomes in EAPs Until EAPs can demonstrate they produce positive workplace outcomes, they will continue to lack credibility with employers and be seen as commodities.
Typical indices of EAP effectiveness, such as satisfaction, subjective reports, and reliance on studies done on other EAPs are no longer enough. There is growing pressure to understand the end result or outcome of your program's specific intervention in a real work setting. Employers look mostly to their EAP vendors to initiate outcome evaluation, whereas vendor’s struggle with the task of finding a relevant outcome measure that is workplace focused and appropriate to the EAP setting.
We believe that struggle is now over. A short but highly valid and reliable measurement tool, Workplace Outcome Suite (WOS), is now available to EAPs at no cost. (The suite is "free" with no strings attached, simply sign a short User Agreement.)
Global Appraisal of Individual Needs – Chestnut Global Partners (GAIN-CGP)
To assess initial, post-intervention, and ongoing employee status, we are using the GAIN-CGP. The GAIN-CGP is a comprehensive eight page assessment that focuses on issues and problems that can come up in an EAP setting. Lighthouse Institute, the research and training division of Chestnut Health Systems (our parent company), developed the GAIN family of instruments (www.chestnut.org/li/gain), which includes the GAIN-CGP.
The GAIN instruments have been used in hundreds of studies and are psychometrically robust and scientifically valid. It is designed for self-administration with paper and pencil or by computer and can be easily converted to a scanable or web-based form as part of a larger system.
The GAIN-CGP is available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, and Japanese. The Spanish translations, for example, of the assessment tool followed rigorous translation protocols, including leadership by a translation advisory group composed of native Spanish speakers from multiple Latino communities in the United States, Mexico, and Latin America.
The five minute GAIN-CGP is designed primarily for three things:
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It serves as a screener in general populations to quickly and accurately identify clients who would have a disorder on the full GAIN (typically a requirement for treatment entry in a behavioral health setting) and rule out those who would not.
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It serves as an easy-to-use quality assurance tool across diverse field-assessment systems for staff with minimal training or direct supervision.
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It serves as a periodic measure of change over time in behavioral health.
The GAIN-CGP has five main sections:
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Background (demographics and reasons for seeking help),
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General Factors (risk factors associated with substance use or mental health problems),
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Sources of Stress (personal and environmental stressors),
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Physical Health (various aspects of one’s physical health status), and
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Emotional/Behavioral Problems (symptoms of internal, external, and substance-related problems).
Space is also provided for initial referral information and EAP recommendations. For additional information concerning the larger family of GAIN instruments and their underlying psychometrics go to the GAIN home page.
Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Short Screener (GAIN-SS)
The five minute GAIN-SS is designed for three primary purposes:
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To serve as a screener in general populations to quickly and accurately identify clients have one or more behavioral health disorders (e.g., internalizing or externalizing psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, or domestic violence problems), which would suggest the need for referral to some part of the behavioral health treatment system. It also rules out those who would not be identified as having behavioral health disorders and may be more appropriate for brief intervention or counseling.
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To serve as a common metric across multiple systems or remote staff (e.g., employee assistance program with multiple contractors) and as a denominator for quality assurance on the extent to which the rate of diagnoses/referrals are consistent with the estimated mix of problems from the GAIN-SS.
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To serve as a periodic measure of change in behavioral health over time.
The GAIN-SS is designed for self- or staff administration on the web, on a computer, or with paper and pen. The web application (GAIN ABS) can be integrated into client management systems. It can be easily converted to a scannable form or incorporated into existing instrument batteries or systems. Versions in different languages (such as Spanish) are also available.