5-2

Running Head: EVALUATION 1

EVALUATION 6

Final Project Milestone Two

Artis Johnson

Dr. Keven Syverson

PHE-423

September 26, 2021

The racial and ethnic application to community health (REACH) was chosen as the Public Health Program for the evaluation. The division of Nutrition, physical activity and, capacity of the centers for Disease Control and Prevention oversees this initiative. This program's objective is to eliminate racial and ethnic health inequalities (CDC, 2021). Individuals, communities, society, culture and environment impose an impact on the health gaps. The REACH partners address these issues through the involvement of the community people regarding the development and implementation of various initiatives in that particular area. For the commencement of this program, the area of DeKalb County, Georgia, is chosen and selected because of their "Community Health Involvement Plan (CHIP)" as it matches with the REACH program.

The stage of development of this program is aimed at targets both the elders and the youth. Considering the situation of covid-19, two cohorts are made for different purposes. Due to the increased age of the elderly, Public Health guidance for community-related exposure will be focusing on them. Considering the energy of the teenagers and their extensive involvement in society, the teenagers will be given the necessary education. There will be increased involvement of LEAD DeKalb as it provides community services to the elders, parent education and will also be helpful in educating the teenagers fulfilling the goals of this evaluation program (LEAD DeKalb. (2018). 

Community stakeholders involve all the relevant and concerned individuals who are directly or indirectly affected by this program. This program will also comprise CHIP, emphasizing economic development, literacy, and a healthy environment. For the evaluation of this program, the target population will comprise all the individuals residing in DeKalb County, Georgia. DeKalb county beauty services, as a collaborative effort to meet the account, is made. Equity is addressed by seeking a good degree of health for all the residents. Respect is centered on ensuring that all individuals are aware that their participation and opinion holds importance. The DeKalb County Board of health's LEAD DeKalb initiative aims to improve the health of the residents of DeKalb County without any racism, including African Americans. It involves establishing lactation support services, providing access to two healthy foods through the implementation of the mobile market, and establishing the Health Care Centers as a Priority for the betterment of the presidents (CDC, 2021).

For this program evaluation, a process evaluation approach will be utilized.  The reason for choosing this method of evaluation lies in its benefit during the implementation of the program.  This evaluation program is aimed at the assessment of the type, amount pro provided and activities. (Rural Health Information Hub, 2017). The evaluation method of the process is used for the examination of the effectiveness of a program during its operation. Evaluation is also necessary to determine whether the execution of the plan is going in the right direction according to the goals and to check whether the program is acceptable and unacceptable by the concerned population (CDC, 2021). The technique of process evaluation is beneficial since it provides early notice of any relevant potential issues. This technique also allows the programs to assess the effectiveness of the program goals along with the benefits of the activities under this program. The process evaluation provides all the basic information, which becomes helpful in determining the effectiveness of the program because it highlights all the details. For example, whether the activities are taking place in the right direction, who is in charge of these activities, what goals are being achieved through the conduction of these activities, and optimum inputs have been provided for the smooth continuation of the program.  

Considering the stage of development of our program, there is the involvement of both the young and the elderly. As activities for both differ, the process evaluation will help assess checklists that can highlight the program's performance. As the main purpose of our program is increased awareness among the population of DeKalb, different studies will be adapted according to the age category. Considering the stage of development, a process evaluation method will be most suitable as it will provide the necessary assessment of the implemented program (CDC, 2021).

In order to successfully evaluate the program, it is necessary to have relevant questions which will provide a goal for the evaluation. The main focus of the implementation of the program is aware of the guidelines regarding the prevention and control of covid-19. Considering the goal of our program implementation, the first question will focus on the fact that the majority of the population of DeKalb is aware of the guidelines issued by CDC with the method of implementation of this program? This question will help evaluate the effectiveness and success of implementation methods to achieve the program's goals. The next question under consideration is the analysis of levels of awareness among the general public and how the stakeholders interpret these goals? This question will allow the evaluators to understand the benefit of the implementation of a program to the general public and how it has impacted the stakeholders who were supporting this plan. The third question is, “is there availability of the necessary inputs for the successful implementation of the program” this question will allow us to understand that the program can be beneficial if the necessary inputs are available. For the evaluation, different measurement strategies will include the focus group surveys based on the individuals of DeKalb County and the stakeholders (Sullivan, 2011).

The major focus of process evaluation is the implementation of the process and attempts towards the determination of the success of the applied model or strategy. Process evaluation majorly focuses on the integration of inputs, activities and outputs. Regarding the implementation of this plan in DeKalb county Georgia, process evaluation can give us the results in a distinct way allowing the evaluators to understand whether the implementation was a success or failure. In the case of implementation, a failure is expected, which allows the evaluators to understand and verify why the plan was unsuccessful. Through the process evaluation, we can understand the situation and compensate for them in order to make the outline successful. It gives a timely evaluation during the process providing chances to make improvements, ultimately leading to the identification of the issues or problems as the principal aim of the implementation of this plan in DeKalb county was spreading awareness of the guidelines regarding covid-19 and its vaccination. Through process evaluation, we can evaluate the success of the plan (Saunders, Evans & Joshi, 2005). In case of failure, our targets for the implementation of the plan will not be fulfilled, which were spreading awareness in the majority of the population. The failure can be due to the non-availability of the inputs which were needed to carry out activities with the youngsters, or there might be the lack of sufficient trained staff in local communities. This type of evaluation gives an idea about insufficiency in terms of inputs and human resources. It also allows evaluation to see if there is an issue with the implemented strategy; for example, the plan is implemented with the aim of spreading awareness. Therefore, if there is a communication barrier due to language or lack of Means of communication, it can be identified because it offers questions that will be used for the evaluation. The flaws of the strategy can be resolved, and a similar strategy can be used in the future.

References

CDC. (2021, July 9). REACH 2014 Awardees. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/reach/current_programs/recipients.html.

CDC. (2021, June 30). Health departments. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/public-health-recommendations.html

LEAD DeKalb. (2018). Local efforts to address disparities in DeKalb. DeKalb County Board of Health. https://www.dekalbhealth.net/office-of-chronic-disease-prevention/local-efforts-to-address-disparities-in-dekalb-lead-dekalb/

Rural Health Information Hub. (2017). Types of evaluation in health promotion and disease prevention programs - RHIhub toolkit. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/health-promotion/4/types-of-evaluation

Saunders, R. P., Evans, M. H., & Joshi, P. (2005). Developing a process-evaluation plan for assessing health promotion program implementation: a how-to guide. Health promotion practice, 6(2), 134-147.

Sullivan, G. M. (2011). A primer on the validity of assessment instruments.