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Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Delivers Measurable Impact on Health and Productivity

By: PRLog
Annual Case Study from CuraLinc Healthcare Provides Insight into EAP-Driven Outcomes for Employee Depression, Absenteeism, Presenteeism and Alcohol Abuse
CHICAGO - Feb. 4, 2018 - PRLog -- To most employers, the value of an employee assistance program (EAP) is based on the understanding that employees with unresolved mental health, substance use and emotional well-being concerns often have troubles in their professional and personal lives that ultimately impact the organization's bottom line. Historically, EAP providers have used a variety of metrics to illustrate their ability to resolve or mitigate these concerns, such as employee utilization, referrals to external resources, satisfaction surveys or website usage. While these measurements are effective and valuable tools that help employers evaluate the reach of the program, they don't truly measure the impact of the EAP on employee health, well-being and productivity.

New research by CuraLinc Healthcare, a leading provider of employee assistance programs, suggests that EAP models with the proper construct and focus can facilitate meaningful and lasting behavior change that leads to a decrease in absenteeism, an increase in productivity and improved health outcomes for employees who present with depression or alcohol use.

Productivity
• 80% of employees reported improved productivity after using the EAP.
• 73% of participants with low or moderate productivity migrated to high productivity after using the EAP.

Depression
• 72% of EAP participants with depression showed 'significant improvement' (a positive migration of two risk levels) after using the program.
• 89% of employees with moderate to severe depression migrated to minimal or mild depression after EAP treatment.

Absenteeism
• The average number of hours missed due to the employee's presenting concern dropped from 13.89 hours to 3.92 hours after using the EAP.
• From among employees who missed at least 40 hours of work prior to using the EAP, only 23% missed any time at all after using the program.

Alcohol Use
• The percentage of employees at higher alcohol risk levels dropped from 36% to 7% after EAP participation.
• 54% of participants who consumed alcohol regularly improved by one or more risk levels after using the EAP.

Other Findings
• Employers that offer EAP counseling models with five or more sessions realized significantly better outcomes than those with lower session models.
• The EAP had a greater impact on productivity and absenteeism from male employees, compared to females.
• Absenteeism reduction and productivity improvement was lowest for participants in the winter months, compared to other seasons.
• Millennials reported higher productivity prior to using the EAP, but older (Gen-X and Boomer) employees got more out of the EAP.
• Employees who participated in both their EAP and their wellness program were more productive.

The aforementioned results came from an analysis of 3,379 EAP cases that originated between January 1 and December 31, 2017. Although data was collected from all EAP participants, including spouses and dependents, only results from covered employees of CuraLinc clients were used in the study.

CuraLinc used the following instruments to evaluate data from EAP participants.
• Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6): Productivity
• Workplace Outcomes Suite (WOS): Absenteeism
• Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9): Depression
• Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): Alcohol Use

During the initial clinical assessment, CuraLinc offered the SPS-6 and WOS to all employees; and offered the PHQ-9 and AUDIT to employees who presented with depression and alcohol use, respectively. CuraLinc followed up with participants 30 days after the case was closed to measure changes in their health and productivity using the aforementioned tools. The follow-up consultation also allowed CuraLinc's Case Managers to evaluate participant satisfaction with the program and profile for variations in health status or referrals to other resources.

"Our clinical model was carefully built to provide a structured, advocacy-based care path that increases the likelihood of positive clinical and productivity-related outcomes.", said CuraLinc's Vice President of Administration, David Pawlowski, LCPC, CEAP, SAP. "Results like these confirm, once again, that an EAP with right structure and approach can have a positive impact on employee health and productivity."

About CuraLinc Healthcare
CuraLinc Healthcare provides an outcomes-driven suite of behavioral health and wellness programs to over 1,000 employers, associations, trusts and post-secondary educational institutions.  For more information, please call 800.490.1585, email info@curalinc.com or visit www.curalinc.com. Additional details regarding this study can be found at www.eapoutcomes.com.

Contact
Claire Schrantz
***@curalinc.com

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