Comparing diverse health promotion programs using overall self-rated health as a common metric

Health promotion programs may target a variety of behaviors including weight loss, exercise, stress, nutrition, or other risk factors. Comparing the outcomes of diverse programs is hampered by the absence of a common metric. Overall self-rated health has been used as a health outcome measure in population studies and in some primary care studies, but its potential use to monitor the outcomes of health programs is unexplored. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of 4 health promotion programs using change in overall self-rated health as a common metric. Program-specific metrics used were weight change, change in minutes of exercise, change in stress management activities, and change in healthy nutrition practices. We found that, although all of our lifestyle interventions positively affected the program-specific metrics, only the weight loss and exercise programs showed improvement in specific metrics correlated with improvements in overall self-rated health.