National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
HealthPOWER! Prevention News Summer 2015: Value and Impact of HLA
Recent Survey Reveals Value and Impact of HealtheLiving Assessment
A little over a year after its launch, more than 32,000 Veterans have tried NCP’s HealtheLiving Assessment (HLA). And according to a recent survey of users, this easy-to-use online tool is helping them understand and lower their health risks, and improve their overall health.
Encouraging Results
“We were pleased to see that a good number of the surveyed Veterans were aware of the HLA, which is accessed via the My HealtheVet (MHV) Web site,” explains Heidi Martin, NCP’s HLA Project Manager. “Although many have yet to take the assessment, almost two-thirds of respondents who started the HLA have taken it at least once, and about three-quarters will take, or may take, it. All of these findings are encouraging because they show that HLA awareness and use are high and likely growing.”
Of the 1,699 respondents who completed the HLA, over 70 percent reported no technical problems while taking it. Martin says that this is another important finding that reflects the HLA technical team’s successful, ongoing efforts to stay on top of the issues that typically come with implementing a new technology.
Easy To Use
“Seventy-nine percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the questions and response choices in the HLA were easy to understand,” says Dr. Jane Kim, NCP’s Deputy Chief Consultant for Preventive Medicine and the HLA’s clinical lead. “And about 75 percent felt that the HLA was the right length. Taken together, these results indicate that they find the HLA to be a practical resource for making positive health behavior changes.”
Martin and Kim say that they’re probably most excited to see that respondents are using what they’ve learned in the HLA to actually improve their health. “The survey revealed that 53.9 percent reviewed the Summary Report generated for them after they completed the HLA—a really important step towards understanding one’s health and knowing which health areas to address,” Martin notes. “Using the report, about one-third have already made changes to their health behaviors, and almost a quarter are working on changing at least one health behavior! Importantly, they’re also using the HLA to engage their VA providers—about 61 percent have discussed, or plan to discuss, their HLA results with their health care team. This finding really shows the multi-faceted value that the HLA has for VA patients and providers.”
Highly Recommended
Martin adds that early analyses of the survey results demonstrated similarity between male and female responses, and across the demographic groups who participated. “A clear majority of all respondents felt that the HLA was a valuable resource for their fellow Veterans,” she reports. “About 73 percent said they’d recommend it to others, and 76 percent thought it was a useful tool.”
A secure messaging feature is planned for the HLA later this year, and recent enhancements include access for mobile devices and a feature that allows users to compare current and previous Summary Reports. “We believe that these features will make the HLA even more valuable to Veterans who want to take charge of their health by improving their health behaviors,” says Kim. “We’re pleased with the results of the survey, which show the impact the HLA can have in providing Veterans with the proactive, personalized health care that they deserve.”
Veterans can access the HLA by going to VA’s MHV Home page and scrolling down to the “Most Popular Features” Section: https://www.myhealth.va.gov/mhv-portal-web/anonymous.portal?_nfpb=true&_nfto=false&_pageLabel=mhvHome
For questions about the HLA, contact Heidi Martin at (919)-383-7874, ext. 4260, or Heidi.Martin@va.gov
