Measuring health program effectiveness in the field: an assessment tool.

Autor: McDonnell SM; Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences-Educational Programs, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. sharon.mcdonnell@dartmouth.edu, Yassin AS, Brown WG, Perry HN, Thacker SB
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Prehospital and disaster medicine [Prehosp Disaster Med] 2007 Sep-Oct; Vol. 22 (5), pp. 396-405.
DOI: 10.1017/s1049023x00005112
Abstrakt: To assist field workers in program evaluation and to explicitly discuss program strengths and weaknesses, a practical method to estimate the effectiveness of public health interventions within the existing program capacity was developed. The method and materials were tested in seven countries (Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda, Guatemala, the Philippines, and Ghana). In this method, four core components are assessed using a questionnaire: (1) the efficacy of the intervention; (2) the level of existing human resources (i.e., quality of recruitment, training, and continuing education); (3) the infrastructure (i.e., supplies, salary, transportation, and supervision); and (4) the level of community support (i.e., access and demand). Using the assessment tool provided, program staff can determine if all necessary elements are in place for a successful program that can deliver the specific intervention. Based on the results of the assessment program, weaknesses can be identified, explicitly discussed, and addressed. The usefulness of this tool in humanitarian relief may be twofold: (1) to assess the design and implementation of effective programs; and (2) to highlight the inevitable need for capacity building as the disaster situation evolves.
Databáze: MEDLINE