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08.12.2018 | Original Article
Quality assurance for workplace health promotion. Validation of the quality criteria for WHP in the Austrian quality management system
Erschienen in: Journal of Public Health | Ausgabe 6/2019
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Aim
Workplace health promotion (WHP) is being increasingly employed as a corporate strategy, being at its most effective when it is implemented in a high-quality and sustainable way. Based on normative principles, a quality management system for WHP was introduced in Austria in 2004. This article examines the measurement quality to validate this quality assurance system.
Subjects and methods
From 2014 to 2017, WHP projects have been assessed rigorously by means of a standardized procedure using 15 quality criteria. The foundations for this are an application submitted by the company, and the decision as to whether a WHP quality certificate is awarded or not is based on the overall assessment. Data are available for the 1131 Austrian companies. Based on theoretical and methodological considerations, the measurement quality was investigated in relation to the overall quality of WHP projects with the help of structural equation models.
Results
The confirmatory one-factor analysis revealed satisfactory construct validity (λ ≥ 0.40) and high reliability for the overall scale (α = 0.87), although the fit was not acceptable. The bi-factor analysis with a general factor (GF) and three specific residual factors resulted in good model fit. The GF explained most of the common variance (ECV = 63.9%); the overall scale was also characterized by its high reliability (αGF = 0.90, ωHGF = 0.82).
Conclusion
The results justify the creation of an overall scale for assessing the quality of WHP. The mean varied by the year of submission, and there was a significant difference between both small/large enterprises and initial/renewal awards. The measurement tool can be considered a good screening instrument for awarding the WHP quality certificate.