A Logic Model for Evaluating the Academic Health Department.
Academic Health Departments (AHDs) are collaborative partnerships between academic programs and practice settings. While case studies have informed our understanding of the development and activities of AHDs, there has been no formal published evaluation of AHDs, either singularly or collectively. Developing a framework for evaluating AHDs has potential to further aid our understanding of how these relationships may matter. In this article, we present a general theory of change, in the form of a logic model, for how AHDs impact public health at the community level. We then present a specific example of how the logic model has been customized for a specific AHD. Finally, we end with potential research questions on the AHD based on these concepts. We conclude that logic models are valuable tools, which can be used to assess the value and ultimate impact of the AHD.
Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Drs Erwin and McNeely and Ms Grubaugh); and Knox County Health Department, Knoxville, Tennessee (Mss Grubaugh and Valentine, Mr Miller, and Dr Buchanan).
Paul Campbell
PC
Erwin
Clea S
CS
McNeely
Julie H
JH
Grubaugh
Jennifer
J
Valentine
Mark D
MD
Miller
Martha
M
Buchanan
D000047:Academies and Institutes / Q000592:standards*; D040381:Education, Public Health Professional / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008128:Logic; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States; D014492:United States Public Health Service / Q000592:standards*