“Evaluating Programs: A Tool for Nurse Decision Making and Program Improvement”
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ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Evaluation and Its Primary Objectives
The main objective of an evaluation is to serve as a tool help nurses and nurse managers make decisions about resource allocations. Evaluation can also help to eliminate ineffective programs and replace them with effective programs that fAn evaluation should answer the following questions:
Were program objectives achieved? (Did the program work?)
Can we improve the program?
Can we contribute to scientific knowledge?
Can we show the funding agencies we have achieved what we intended?
Can we demonstrate to policy makers the worth of the program?
How long do the effects last?
Were clients satisfied?
Types of Evaluation
There are four types of evaluation.Instructions
Click the tabs below for a brief description of each type of evaluation.Accessible Interactive Instructions: Use the arrow keys to navigate between tabs. After selecting a tab, use the Tab key to move to the tab content.
Process
Summative
Impact
Formative evaluation occurs during the program planning phase and facilitates early improvement. It aims to answer the question:Is there a need for the program and how can we improve it?How Well Is the Program Working?
Process evaluation occurs during program implementation and provides an opportunity to avoid problems by spotting them early. It aims to answer the questions:How well is the program working?
How is the program being implemented and what are the gaps?
Is the program meeting its targets?
Summative evaluation focuses on outcomes and what goals have been met. It provides data to justify continuing the program. Summative evaluation aims to answer the questions:Should the program be expanded? If so, where to?
What factors worked in the program’s favor and what worked against it?
Should the program still be funded?
Impact evaluation focuses on intermediate rather than long-term outcomes and examines the effectiveness of the intervention in changing knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. It assesses the change in the target population’s well-being. Impact evaluation aims to answer the question:What changes in program participants’ lives are attributable to the program?
How Well Is the Program Working?
To assess how well a program is functioning, we look at performance indicators. These include examining effectiveness, efficiency, and equity.Instructions
Click the tabs below for a brief description of each performance indicator.
Evaluation of effectiveness asks the question:Did the program meet its objectives?
Evaluation of efficiency asks the question:Is the program worth the investment?Efficiency is a measure of how successful the health promotion program was compared to the cost and resources required to conduct it.Cost-Effectiveness AnalysisOne measure of efficiency is cost-effectiveness analysis, which helps to identify which programs result in the greatest improvement in health status based on a given expenditure. It asks the questions:What is the cost of the program?
What are the benefits of the program?
Cost-effectiveness analysis looks at several options to determine which one is the least expensive way to achieve optimal outcomes. For example, quality-adjusted life years (QALY) is a measure of life expectancy. Arguments against the use of QALYs center on whether they are unethical and introduce bias in the allocation of resources that favor certain diseases over others.Another example of cost-effectiveness analysis is comparing different health care programs to determine the most inexpensive way to achieve a given outcome. The data in the following table, for instance, might be used to address the question: What is the least costly strategy to use to reduce infant mortality?Cost-Effectiveness as an Outcome: Comparing Three ProgramsProgramLives Saved (per 1,000 people)Cost of Program (per 1,000 people)Cost Per Life SavedTeenage Family Planning0.6$122,000$203,000NICU2.8$13,616,000$4,778,000Prenatal Care4.5$176,000$39,000
Evaluation of equity asks the question:To what degree are participants involved in the program’s research design, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination?A way to evaluate equity is through pay-for-performance evaluation, which is a payment model that offers financial incentives to physicians, hospitals, medical groups, and other healthcare providers for meeting certain performance measures. This model has already been implemented in a number of countries. Within the United States, the Health Resources and Services Administration has prioritized the implementation of electronic medical records that will support pay-for-performance evaluation for individual providers and healthcare system
HOW TO WORK ON THIS ASSIGNMENT ( EXAMPLE ESSAY/ DRAFT)
For nurses and nurse supervisors, evaluations are a crucial tool for deciding how to allocate resources. Evaluations’ main goal is to assess a program’s efficacy and, if necessary, make improvements. Evaluations can assist in identifying ineffective initiatives so that more productive ones can take their place.
When conducting an evaluation, it’s crucial to determine whether program goals were met, whether the program can be improved, whether the evaluation can advance scientific understanding, whether funding agencies have received the intended results, whether the program is worthwhile for policymakers to invest in, how long the program’s effects last, and whether clients were satisfied.
Four main categories of evaluation exist:
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