141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

283933
Effective evaluation for cross-cutting programs

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Geoffrey Bieger, MPH , Deloitte Consulting, LLP, Atlanta, GA
David Rabinowitz , Deloitte Consulting, Atlanta, GA
As program budgets face increased scrutiny and cuts, public health organizations are examining ways to make efficient use of resources, both financial and human. One such method is to organize their programs more holistically, but looking across programs at systems level support and integration. While there are many benefits to such a structure, including shared resources, knowledge, and efficient program management at both the funder and grantee levels, there are also a number of challenges to changing the model from the historical way of doing business. High on this list of challenges is the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of cross-cutting programs. Utilizing traditional evaluation methods that look at specific health outcomes presents challenges, but even in this more systems approach there are key evaluation considerations to address. This presentation will provide an overview of some of the leading practices, variations and considerations when designing and implementing a cross-cutting program evaluation vs. a more traditional health topic focused evaluation. We will also identify the spectrum of performance measurement and program evaluation and identify components of each that are important to enable success.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Program planning
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Identify key components of effective program evaluations Describe the barriers to evaluating a cross-cutting program Analyze the continuum of performance measurement and program evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have led the development and application of conceptual frameworks to assess and evaluate systems-level programs, and identified best practices in linking to public health priorities and health outcomes.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.