health policy: importance of evaluation in ensuring the goals are met

In previous weeks you have been learning about the various components of a program plan and, this week, about the importance of evaluation in ensuring the goals are met. To evaluate whether goals are being achieved, you must have measurable objectives and be able to find the necessary data with which to measure if those objectives are being met. For example, if one of the goals of your program is to reduce the percentage of overweight schoolchildren in that area, a measurable objective might be “have 50% of children exercise for 60 minutes every day.” But how would you actually measure whether this objective is being met? Getting ahold of reliable and valid data with which to evaluate the objective can be difficult and costly. In this example of children’s exercise, would you gain the information through direct observation? Would you survey parents? Would you be able to use data that others have gathered, such as a national or school survey? There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these ideas, but some are clearly more feasible and cost-effective than others. For this Application, explain in two to three pages how you would evaluate your hypothetical program, addressing the following: List the 3 – 5 measurable objectives you already identified in the Week 6 Application. Revise them if you can improve on them. Explain how you will measure the objectives to determine if you have reached your goals. Include a description of how you will get the data with which to evaluate your objectives. Remember the need to be realistic in your use of resources and, wherever possible, aim to use data that are being collected by others. Discuss some of the obstacles you can foresee in this process and how you would try to overcome them. Indicate whether the evaluative measures are process (activities) or outcomes. Review the budget you created in Week 7. Does your budget reflect the costs for evaluation? If so, do you think it is sufficient? If not, how would you amend to cover the costs of evaluation?