Online Program

LI Course
Oral

Statement of Purpose and Institute Overview: The purpose of this course is to teach public health professionals, particularly at the community, local or state levels how to evaluate public health programs. In a time of budgetary constraints for public health programs, it is essential that we follow evidence-based strategies, develop measurable performance outcomes, and effectively quantify the impact of programs. We will review methods for conducting program evaluations in public health. We will discuss formative evaluations, including how to do needs assessments and process or implementation evaluations, which focus on determining whether the program is operating as planned. However, the main part of the course will be on summative evaluations, including outcome and impact evaluations. Outcome evaluations examine the more proximal changes that result directly from the program, such as changes in attitudes, skills, or behaviors. Impact evaluations focus on the broader changes that may occur from a program. For example, a community program aiming to increase the percent of infants put to sleep in safe sleep positions could have an outcome evaluation measuring any changes in behavior of the program participants, while an impact evaluation could examine changes in Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Syndrome. The course will cover the importance of developing logic models of the inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes. Logic models can be helpful in: determining the appropriateness of evaluation questions, designs, measurements and data to be gathered; understanding what can reasonably be expected to effect the process and/or the outcome, as well as what characteristics of the environment, population, and intervention should be taken into account. The course will also examine the need for measurable performance measures, including targets and goals. All students will be assigned an article describing an evaluation to read beforehand. We will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. The class will then be broken down into groups to follow different case studies for each step of the process. Each group will have the opportunity to present and learn from the other case studies. The instructors have many years experience teaching workshops on program evaluation, performance measurement, and evidence-based public health.

Session Objectives: Explain the importance of program evaluation in overall public health program management Identify various methods of evaluation along the continuum from process to impact List steps in the logic model necessary for the design of effective evaluations Describe data sources and data quality issues Analyze at least one evaluation model Design at least one evaluation strategy

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)