DEVELOPMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE NEEDS ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT

THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION MODELS FOR EAP PLANNERS TO BETTER TARGET THEIR SERVICES. THE EVALUATION MODEL WILL ENABLE AN EAP TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF THEIR SERVICES UPON HEALTH-RELATED EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS. THE CORE INSTRUMENT WILL INCLUDE SUBSCALES RELATING TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE, WORK AND FAMILY LIFE, STRESS, DIET, EXERCISE AND COPING SKILLS. DURING PHASE I A PRELIMINARY VERSION OF THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE DEVELOPED AND ADMINISTERED ON AN ANONYMOUS BASIS TO FIFTEEN HUNDRED EMPLOYEES IN THREE ORGANIZATIONS: A BANK, A HOSPITAL, AND A FOOD PROCESSING CORPORATION. THESE SUBJECTS WILL ALSO BE INTERVIEWED IN GROUPS TO DETERMINE THEIR REACTION TO THE ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURES, THE INSTRUMENT ITSELF, AND SPECIFIC ITEMS. DATA WILL BE SUBJECTED TO APPROPRIATE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS (ITEM ANALYSIS, RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY TESTS, AND CLUSTER ANALYSIS). THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE REFINED AND A COMPUTER-GENERATED REPORT FORMAT DEVELOPED. THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE RETESTED IN PHASE II, A NORMATIVE DATABASE ESTABLISHED, AND THE EVALUATION MODEL DEVELOPED. THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE UNIQUE IN THE FIELD; LEADING TO MORE FOCUSED, EFFECTIVE, AND COST-EFFECTIVE HUMAN SERVICE DELIVERY IN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY. IT WILL BE MARKETED IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN EAP OR AS AN INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT DEVICE.