Health care professionals are committed to improving overall community health. A good program planning, utilizing evidence based practice resources, is essential for effective behavior change outcomes in individuals and communities. It is a multi-step process that typically begins with the identification of the problem and development of an evaluation plan, and includes a feedback loop, with an evaluation used for program improvement (The Guide to Community Guide Preventive Services, 2014). The steps generally used in program planning are: 1) Identifying primary health issues in your community; 2) Developing measurable process and outcome objectives; 3) Selecting effective interventions to help achieve these objectives; 4) Implementing the …show more content…
Plan the process – This phase is the time put forth in setting a timetable with benchmarks and phases that can lead to better programs, have less strain on resources, and have timely implementation. An effective timetable utilized in variations is the Program, Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT). 2. Plan with people - Successful campaigns are never planned by a single individual. It is the culmination of many people – health educators, administrators, and so forth – that are involved from many different aspects of the issue, whether it is indirectly or directly. Together, they bring insight, experience, ideas, and resources that an individual couldn’t. Therefore, a planning committee would be imperative to have. 3. Plan with data – Planning with data is important because it is a measurable marker of the success of the program and/or the success that the program wishes to have upon the community. Accurate and appropriate data can prevent wasting resources and assist with sound decisions being made. While it is important to be able to analyze and combine large amounts of data, it is also important to be able to analyze sections of data in detail. Planning with data should also include qualitative and quantitative …show more content…
Plan for priorities - Having a list of priorities is valuable to ensure that the highest need is being met at a given time when an opportunity exists for greater impact. For instance, although an urgent need is identified, there may not be sufficient resources available to facilitate a successful program and vice versa. 6. Plan for measurable outcomes in acceptable formats – Although we know that the general end result of a program is to help people in some kind of way - form or fashion - there has to be a way to measure how this is done. Part of the planning process is to develop the goals of the programs with measurable objectives on how these goals will be met. 7. Plan for evaluation – Although, evaluation is listed as the seventh principle, it does not necessarily mean that it is the last thing that is applied. Evaluation must start during process planning by evaluating the process, then by determining how the goals and objectives will be evaluated. In other words, the evaluation is an ongoing process that is actually mended into the other principles. This enables a project to be sustainable and self-correcting over long term. Furthermore, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.) suggests that a written evaluation can do the following: create a shared understanding; foster program transparency; increase acceptance of methods; serve as an advocacy tool for evaluation resources; and help to assess the program resources – just to name a
One of the first responsibilities is: “Assess Needs, Resources, and Capacity for Health Education/Promotion responsibilities” within this responsibility, the Education specialist must be competent to “Plan Assessment Process” (NCHEC, n.d., p. 1). The plan Assessment process is the process in which the educator analyzes the subject that is being assessed and then applies learned models to develop plans—which then leads the educator into collecting data to further assist the educator in a developing an adequate plan (NCHEC, n.d. ).
Hawthorne G. Introduction to Health Program Evaluation: Centre for Health Program Evaluation; 2000. 26 -33 p.
“Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans.” ( United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Healthy People 2020 , 2011). It acts as a national guide for disease prevention and health promotion. There are various objectives and goals which serve as the guideline to achieve overall improvement in health . ‘Educational and Community-Based Programs’ is one of them. According to U.S Department of Health and Human Services the main goal of these programs is to “Increase the quality, availability, and effectiveness of educational and community-based programs designed to prevent disease and injury, improve health, and enhance quality of life.” (HHS, Healthy People 2020, 2011). This particular goal of Healthy People 2020 focuses on increasing the number educational and community based programs to increase awareness about disease prevention and health among every individual of the society. It focuses on educating them on various topics including chronic diseases, substance abuse, prevention of injury and violence to encourage and enhance health. It emphasizes on increasing the quantity and quality of such programs so that a larger population could benefit from the program and gain effective knowledge to achieve a healthy life.
Program evaluation is a skill that requires for skilled people to conduct an evaluation that is credible. My reason for taking this class was to gain the basic understanding of the program evaluation. As I became involved in the readings and class assignments I discovered a profound level of respect for this application. I uncovered that evaluations should dedicate thoughtfulness to all stakeholders who are invested in the program and affected by its evaluation. This process allows a full range of people and groups to take part in the evaluation; this is also a way to identify and develop the needs of stakeholders. Evaluation should be integrated throughout the preliminary phases of program development. A preliminary phase of the evaluation process is to define the program in-depth detail. This collective endeavor can generate a mutual understanding of the program and the evaluation process. In the environment in which I work this is an unknown process, program evaluation happens at the end of the year. In most cases, most programs are unsuccessful because of the fact of having unrealistic goals and outcomes. Evaluations can be formative and summative. Formative evaluations are conducted in the development and implementation phase of the program. This process can be beneficial because it provides with information on how to best attain the goals or make changes to the program. Summative evaluations happen when the programs are well instituted and inform on to what degree the program is attaining its outcomes and goals (Patton, 1987).
Planning of a prevention program is important as it increases the chances of achieving the desired results. It ensures that all involved are on the same page and driven for the same outcome. When everyone involved is working towards the same goal and the outline is laid out, changes can be made if necessary. When planning a program it is important to identify the risk and protective factors within the community. This will help you come up with approaches or strategies that can assist in resolving issues. Creating a data-driven plan will ensure all avenues are explored, resource and readiness gaps are identified and the cultures within the community are acknowledged. Decisions and actions taken regarding the planning of the program must include all the ideas and thoughts of all involved in the project. Implementation is when your plan is put into action. Sometimes, when implementing a prevention program, adaptation needs to occur to adjust to budget, time and staffing restraints. It is important to remember the fidelity, or integrity of the initial program you sought to create. The more the original program is adhered to, it is more likely to be a successful venture. An action plan should be drawn up which will describe how you plan to implement the program. It will explain the desired outcome of the plan, ways in which you wish to achieve those results, and who is responsible for what task. This will help keep the project on track and remind everyone of their role in making the project
DiClemente (2013) stated, “Although no evaluation is perfect, evaluation research can have a high degree of rigor” (DiClemente, Salazar, & Crosby, 2013, pp. 298). The result of a high degree of rigor can lead to the utilization by program planners and policy experts which would in turn could impact public health policy and promotion practice (DiClemente et al., 2013). This is obtained by a step by step, all equally important, process in what is known as the “Nine Step Stairway to Effective Evaluation”.
To begin with, the Carter County Community Health Needs Assessment analyzed multiple health factors and identified core measures based on state and county data. The following core measures are separated by the following categories: behaviors, community and environment, policy, clinical care, and outcomes. The behaviors category identified modifiable, high-risk behaviors that can lead to poor health outcomes. Smoking, binge drinking, drug deaths, obesity, physical inactivity, and high school graduation rates are the modifiable health outcomes that were focused on. The community and environment category looked at the violent crime, occupational fatalities, childhood poverty, and infectious disease rates.
Central to its design, the cyclical nature of PAR promotes ongoing observation, reflection and action to produce community-devised plans that will achieve sustainable, positive outcomes (Koch, & Kralik, 2008). Evaluation processes often involve matching objectives with outcomes and noting differences in the community before and after implementation. This may include surveys that measure the impact of research and implementation across different areas of the communities' health and wellbeing including health related behaviours (Billings, 2008). However, as it often takes time to see significant results after implementation, it is imperative that not only culturally appropriate and competent, designs and methods have been employed throughout to ensure greater chance of success in meeting community needs and objectives, but continual collaboration is employed for feedback to guide the PAR process (Koch & Kralik, 2008). If PAR is implemented correctly in respect of key considerations outlined within this plan, feedback loops would be generated from building and maintaining strong working relationships, and the facilitation of ongoing dialogue throughout all phases.
“Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind” a famous quote about our goal by Seneca. It is a metaphor about the achievement goal and objectives by good planning skills. One has to plan for what one wants to achieve and where one wants to go. One of the most important things is to have good planning, before taking any project the first think you should do is to create project plan. Planning can be defined as preparing a sequence of action to achieve specific goals and objectives. According to Kerzner (2009), “project planning is desirable that the project manager is involved from project conception through execution. It must be systematic, flexible to handle, closely disciplined through reviews and control and capable of accepting multi functional inputs (pg. 412)”. The importance of planning a project is to describe the work so that it will be easily identifiable to the project team member.
Getting outside participation form the school board, regional health programs, parents and the local community is necessary as effective prevention plans depend on various shared
Shediac-Rizkallah, M.C., Bone, L.R (1998) Planning for the sustainability of community based health programs : Conceptual frameworks and future directions for research, practice and policy: Health Education Research. 12 (1) pg 87-108.
“Planning: is specifying the goals to be achieved and deciding in advance the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals” (Bateman & Snell, 2004, p. 16).
Setting goals and priorities are an important part of any successful plan. By setting goals you are making a statement about what you wish to accomplish. Goals provide you with focus and motivation. You are more likely to get things done when you set goals for yourself. Priorities are the key to helping you to meet those goals. Priories help you to determine what tasks need to be done and when. Setting priorities keeps you on track and on time.
Assessment of plans would be evaluated by the mandated reporting required by health facilities. Surveys would be conducted in schools to see if education of healthy choices and risky behaviors is effective, a survey would be done at start of the program in order to have a baseline. Survey facilities of staff, their qualifications, and services available. Success would be measured by an increase in Jamaicans taking advantage of education and screenings both at health care facilities and health fairs. If there is a decrease in Morbidity and Mortality specifically the top three diseases of Jamaica; cancer, cardiovascular disease, and HIV/AIDS would show the success of the holistic health care plan.
Project planning falls in the Planning Process Group which consists of those processes to establish the projects total scope, define the projects objectives, and courses of action to achieve those objectives. During the planning process, all the documents that are needed to carry the project through the project lifecycle will be developed such as the project management plan. Project management requires repeated feedback loops as additional information becomes available and is better understood. The planning process delineates the strategy, tactics, and path to successfully complete the project. With that, the planning of a project must walk through all the those processes from executing, monitoring and controlling through the closing process.