title: Formative evaluation: Developing measures for online family mental health recovery education.
abstract: Families facing mental health challenges have very limited access to ongoing support. A formative evaluation of Families Healing Together (FHT), a new online family mental health recovery program was conducted using five waves (N=108) of data. Exploratory factor analysis of the measures identified as important to the program theory found strong reliability evidence (α=.77-.86) for 6 constructs. A poor response rate (25%) did not allow for valid pre and postoutcome evaluation, however we did have enough information to assess the psychometric properties of the new measures. The new evaluation tool accounted for 34% of the variance in Capacity to Support Family Member, and nearly 50% of the variance in Hopefulness toward Recovery. New programs without existing measures require formative evaluation strategies that accurately describe program activities in order to develop outcome measures sensitive to novel aspects of program components. Most outcome measures are developed for individuals with mental health challenges not family members. These new measures may be beneficial to effectively evaluate programs that promote family recovery and wellness.
authors.affiliation: University of Northern Colorado, Applied Statistics and Research Methods Program, Campus Box 124, Greeley, CO 80639, USA. Electronic address: Lisa.Rue@unco.edu.
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rue
authors.affiliation: University of Northern Colorado, Applied Statistics and Research Methods Program, Campus Box 124, Greeley, CO 80639, USA. Electronic address: Samantha.Estrada@unco.edu.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Estrada
authors.affiliation: University of Northern Colorado, Applied Statistics and Research Methods Program, Campus Box 124, Greeley, CO 80639, USA. Electronic address: Michael.Floren@unco.edu.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Floren
authors.affiliation: Families Healing Together, 3114 Terra Linda Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, USA. Electronic address: Kristamackinnon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: MacKinnon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003710:Demography; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States
keywords: Family support; Formative evaluation; Logic model; Mental health recovery