The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #65420

Karen Peters, DrPH, Rural Health Professions, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, 1601 Parkview, Rockford, IL 61107, 815/395-5906, kpeters@uic.edu

The Illinois Arthritis Partnership represents the collaborative efforts of over sixty agencies, organizations, academic institutions, professional groups and persons with arthritis who are dedicated to reducing the burden of the disease in Illinois. The four year effort, sponsored through the Illinois Department of Public Health with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has applied a public health approach to addressing arthritis by focusing on whole population groups and utilizing the concepts of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Healthy People 2010 and the National Arthritis Action Plan are used to help guide the state's efforts. A comprehensive evaluation strategy, Framework for Public Health Program Evaluation, developed by the CDC has been used to guide the evaluation efforts of the Partnership throughout the course of the project. An impact evaluation of the Partnership indicates that while the more proximal and process oriented goals, objectives and activities have been achieved, more time (and data collection) is required to ascertain whether the more distal goal and objective outcomes have been or will be reached. Implications for the use of CDC evaluation framework for this project include its utility and flexibility in guiding a comprehensive evaluation. The framework is useful because of its emphasis on stakeholder participation and sharing of lessons learned required throughout the project. In addition, the framework suggests a constant recycling through the evaluation process which is needed in the analysis of any dynamic and incremental group process such as a statewide partnership.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to:
• List the programmatic components and associated 'stakeholders' involved in the four year Illinois Arthritis Partnership effort.
• Describe the five major evaluation elements of the CDC Framework for Public Health Program Evaluation and how they were utilized in the evaluation efforts of the Illinois Arthritis Partnership.
• Analyze the impact of the major outcomes of the Illinois Arthritis Partnership at the local, county and state level.

Keywords: Arthritis, Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.