Informing best practice with community practice: the community change chronicle method for program documentation and evaluation.
Health promotion professionals are increasingly encouraged to implement evidence-based programs in health departments, communities, and schools. Yet translating evidence-based research into practice is challenging, especially for complex initiatives that emphasize environmental strategies to create community change. The purpose of this article is to provide health promotion practitioners with a method to evaluate the community change process and document successful applications of environmental strategies. The community change chronicle method uses a five-step process: first, develop a logic model; second, select outcomes of interest; third, review programmatic data for these outcomes; fourth, collect and analyze relevant materials; and, fifth, disseminate stories. From 2001 to 2003, the authors validated the use of a youth empowerment model and developed eight community change chronicles that documented the creation of tobacco-free schools policies (n = 2), voluntary policies to reduce secondhand smoke in youth hangouts (n = 3), and policy and program changes in diverse communities (n = 3).
Scott
Sheryl A
SA
University of Minnesota School of Public Health, MN, USA. sherscott@earthlink.net
Proescholdbell
Scott
S
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004282:Documentation; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011209:Power, Psychological; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000517:prevention & control*
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution