Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108457

Sue Wong Gengler, DrPH, Health Education Department, Inland Empire Health Plan, 303 E. Vanderbilt Way, Ste. 100, San Bernardino, CA 92408, 9098902039, gengler-s@iehp.org

One of the challenges in weight management program successes is participant's compliance to the regimen, which ultimately impacts weight loss. A California Medicaid health maintenance organization offers its members a nationally recognized weight management program at no cost, with participation contingent upon continued weight loss. During a two-year period, of those members who initiated the attendance process, only 24% had continued beyond the first five weeks of the program. To increase attendance compliance in this program, the health plan implemented a cost-share component. Preliminary evaluations after the one-year implementation of the cost-share program were conducted, comparing 193 adult members who participated free-of-charge and 122 adult members who were in cost-share, and had participated up to 25 weeks. Results from multivariate independent samples t-test showed no significant difference in the percent of members who attended beyond the first five weeks between “cost-share” and “free” programs. Significant differences of percent body weight loss, however, were found among members at 5 weeks, 10 weeks, and 15 weeks in which cost-share members lost a greater percent of body weight than those in the free program. Regressions analyses showed that the “Type of Program” is a significant predictor of percent body weight loss at 10 weeks and 15 weeks. Implications from these preliminary results seem to indicate that a nominal fee applied to these Medicaid members may not be prohibitive to participation, and may have led to greater adherence to the weight loss regiment, thereby leading to greater weight loss.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the participant will be able to

• Recognize the potential of adding a nominal fee to increase compliance in a weight management program for low-income participants.
• Develop a cost-share model for a weight management program.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.