Construction of an effectiveness evaluation index system for nurse employee assistance program based on the CIPP model: a Delphi study

Improving the mental health of nurses remained a global public health challenge. While Employee Assistance Program (EAP) served as a modern and effective measure to enhance the physical and mental health of nurses, a mature and effective evaluation system for assessing their effectiveness had yet to be established. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a universally applicable evaluation index system for measuring the effectiveness of EAP for nurses. Based on the CIPP model, this study first drafted a preliminary evaluation index system through literature review and brainstorming. Subsequently, two rounds of Delphi survey were conducted with 18 experts from three provinces to solicit their opinions on the proposed system for assessing the effectiveness of EAP. After finalizing the index system, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to determine the weights of indexes at all levels. The finalized effectiveness evaluation index system of nurse EAP consisted of 4 first-level indexes (Evaluation of context, input, process, product), 12 s-level indexes, and 50 third-level indexes. The expert positive coefficient for both rounds of correspondence consultation was 100%. The expert authority coefficients were 0.834 and 0.906 in the first and second rounds of consultation, respectively. The Kendall’s W coefficients were 0.169 for the first round and 0.100 for the second round ( P < 0.05). This effectiveness evaluation index system developed in this study demonstrates a certain degree of scientific rigor and reliability, and can provide a reference basis for the implementation, management, and improvement of nurse EAP. Not applicable.