title: The evaluation of reproductive health PhD program in Iran: The input indicators analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Appropriate quality achievement of a PhD program requires frequent assessment and discovering the shortcomings in the program. Inputs, which are important elements of the curriculum, are frequently missed in evaluations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the input indicators of reproductive health PhD program in Iran based on the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) evaluation model.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a descriptive and evaluative study based on the CIPP evaluation model. It was conducted in 2013 in four Iranian schools of nursing and midwifery of medical sciences universities. Statistical population consisted of four groups: heads of departments (n = 5), faculty members (n = 18), graduates (n = 12), and PhD students of reproductive health (n = 54). Data collection tools were five separate questionnaires including 37 indicators that were developed by the researcher. Content and face validity were evaluated based on the experts' indications. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated in order to obtain the reliability of the questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS software. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, percentage, and standard deviation), and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and least significant difference (LSD) post hoc tests to compare means between groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of the study indicated that the highest percentage of the heads of departments (80%), graduates (66.7%), and students (68.5%) evaluated the status of input indicators of reproductive health PhD program as relatively appropriate, while most of the faculties (66.7%) evaluated that as appropriate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is suggested to explore the reasons for relatively appropriate evaluation of input indicators by further academic researches and improve the reproductive health PhD program accordingly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery, Student Research Committee, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahshid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: AbdiShahshahani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Medical Education Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Soheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ehsanpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Medical Education Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Nikoo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamani
authors.affiliation: Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kohan
keywords: Context; Iran; and product evaluation model; indicators; input; process; program evaluation; reproductive health