How do we know if we are making a difference with our program or community initiative?
In this article, the authors discuss issues related to knowing if health workers are making a difference with their community initiatives or programs being delivered in a community setting. Issues relating to the choice of evaluation questions, relevance of data sets used to answer those questions, and the rigor by which the answer can be evaluated--and the ability to generalize to other communities or populations--are explored. Finally, relevant resources to help you pursue these issues are provided.
Francisco
Vincent T
VT
Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Section, Center for Pediatric Research, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Butterfoss
Frances D
FD
D018672:Community Health Planning; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006265:Health Care Coalitions; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D014481:United States