René Lavinghouze, MA, Division of Oral Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS F-10, Atlanta, GA 30341 and Scott Presson, DDS, MPH, Divison of Oral Health, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Mailstop F-10, Atlanta, GA 30341, (770) 488-6056, skp4@cdc.gov.

Objective: to develop sealant program evaluation tools that are practical, feasible and able to be embedded within current activities for program improvement and informed decision making. Methods: The Division of Oral Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), collaborated with funded states to co-create a process for evaluating sealant programs that will enable states to answer stakeholder questions, document success, and add to the science base for program implementation. Site visits were conducted for 12 states and 1 territory with key program stakeholders to determine site-specific evaluation questions and capacity assessment. A workgroup, including several Dental Directors from non-funded states, provided guidance during instrument development. Results: An overview of the menu of sealant program evaluation tools and logic model developed will be presented. Options for how these tools might be operationalized in the field and used for program improvement and policy decisions will also be discussed. Conclusions: The project focused on practical, feasible evaluation methods that allow states to tailor tools as appropriate for the program’s stage of development and evaluation capacity. The evaluation framework developed emphasizes use of evaluation results for program improvement and decision making, with quality evaluation systematically incorporated as a routine part of program operations. Assessment of current evaluation capacity within sites revealed few, if any, resources available in-house. The current demand for appropriate, practical evaluation tools was voiced by all 13 sites and stakeholders.

Learning Objectives:

1)Participants will be able to describe the process for including stakeholders in an effective evaluation effort for state dental sealant programs.
• Participants will be able to describe the benefits of conducting practical, feasible program evaluations to improve program implementation and decision making.

Keywords: Evaluation, Oral Health

Related Web page: www.cdc.gov/oralhealth

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.