Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111320

Sara J. Corwin, MPH, PhD¹, Willie H. Oglesby, MSPH¹, Kara M. Montgomery, DrPH², Susan Patterson³, and Alfredo Cruz³. (1) Office of Public Health Practice, University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, 800 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208, 803-777-3636, corwins@gwm.sc.edu, (2) Arnold School of Public Health, Office of Public Health Practice, 800 Sumter Street, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, (3) Community Partners Program, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 217 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

In 2003, the Knight-funded arts infused after school enrichment pilot program was implemented in three urban middle schools in Columbia, South Carolina. The purpose of the program is to enhance students' academic performance and to promote positive youth development. The intervention activities include in part: classroom curricula integrated with day school lessons, multiple arts approaches (e.g., music, dance, drama, visual arts and writing), field trips to community events, and parental involvement. The evaluation team from the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, in collaboration with multiple project stakeholders, has implemented process, impact and outcome strategies to assess the program. Process evaluation data is essential in the formative stages of new interventions and in documenting the mechanisms through which potential changes in outcomes operate. To this end, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was employed to collect process level information to evaluate fidelity of program implementation, curriculum delivery, attributes of successful community partnerships, program reach, parental participation, and students' satisfaction with program activities. The development of research instruments, tracking forms, site visit checklists, and data collection protocols will be presented. Preliminary results indicate that a wide-range of programmatic activities did occur, student participation rates were moderate to high, and several external factors influenced implementation. Implications for refining program components and for adopting similar process evaluation strategies in school-community based programs will be provided.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to

• Describe (
• levels of health promotion and education program evaluation;
• Explain the importance of process level evaluation in the formative stages of new programs;
• Identify (
• sources of process evaluation data in a school-community based approach to after school programs; and,
• Articulate how process evaluation information can be utilized.

Keywords: School Health Educators, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.