Introduction:
The Foundations of Healthy Living Retreat was established in 2012 based on a cognitive behavioural therapy-type program with acceptance commitment therapy modules, exercise and nutrition. This was developed to cultivate an ownership of management of a chronic disease by examining not just the physical but the psychological components of obesity. We reflected on outcomes by assessing participant engagement, personal interaction and behaviour changes and revised our program as a result.
Method:
Participants were asked to complete feedback each day. This covered: How easy was it to engage in the session and why? How was this relevant/useful to your current situation/s? What was most meaningful during this session and how will you use it afterwards?
We established the participant’s preferred learning style, the most significant thing they would take home from the retreat, if they felt better equipped to deal with stressful situations as a result, and feedback in terms of facilities, program content and meals.
This information was collated and reviewed by the team and revised as necessary.
Results:
To do the evaluation, we looked objectively at the feedback forms from the first 25 retreats and developed a facilitator’s manual based on required objectives and learning outcomes for participants. We ascertained what hadn’t worked, what improvements were required and made changes in the following areas:
Conclusion:
The revised retreat program has increased participant engagement, interaction and overall extremely positive feedback. Participants believe that they are now far better equipped to deal with stressful situations, have significant learning with tools and strategies to utilize in their ongoing weight loss surgical journey.