COMMITTEE CHAIR: Dr. Chloe Gaines

TITLE: UTILIZATION OF AN ON-SITE PRIMARY CARE CLINIC – AN EVALUATION

ABSTRACT: Employers are increasingly incorporating on-site primary care clinics into their workplace health strategies to improve access to timely care, reduce absenteeism, support chronic disease management, and lower healthcare-related costs. Yet, despite the demonstrated organizational and health benefits, many worksite clinics experience lower-than-expected utilization. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to identify behavioral and structural factors that influence employee utilization of a corporate on-site primary care clinic which was experiencing significantly below organizational utilization targets. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional design was used to evaluate factors or barriers contributing to employee’s low utilization of the onsite primary care clinic. Approximately 1,000 eligible full-time employees at a large corporate campus in the northeastern United States were invited to complete the Worksite Clinic Utilization Questionnaire (WCUQ), a tool developed specifically for this project and structured around the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation Behavior (COM-B) model constructs. The WCUQ measured awareness, accessibility, confidentiality, convenience, and motivational influences on clinic use. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability testing, and non-parametric comparisons. Open-ended items captured additional behavioral insights. Findings: A total of 251 employee surveys were completed the survey. Results demonstrated generally favorable perceptions across all three COM-B domains. Capability findings indicated high levels of awareness of clinic services, understanding of clinic benefits, confidence in communicating with providers, and adequate health literacy. Opportunity findings reflected strong perceptions of accessibility, convenient clinic hours, supervisor support, and availability of time during the workday to access services. Motivation findings were generally positive; however, greater variability was observed in employees’ preferences for the on-site clinic versus external healthcare providers. Overall, the findings suggest that knowledge and access barriers are relatively limited within the organization, while motivational factors and personal healthcare preferences may play a larger role in influencing clinic utilization. Conclusion: This evaluation contributed to the broader application of behavioral science in workplace health evaluations by using the COM-B model to identify multi-level determinants of clinic utilization. Understanding these determinants is crucial for designing targeted interventions that enhance access, promote preventive care, foster employee trust, and align organizational goals to improve workforce health outcomes.

Keywords: On-site clinic, utilization, COM-B model, workplace health, process evaluation, primary care

Location Online:

Zoom Link:

Meeting https://pvpanther.zoom.us/j/91024320118?pwd=1HA6KE47eMcL81OjZb73mnFH8QaKPE.1

 Meeting ID: 910 2432 0118

Passcode: 738872