In order for any program to be initiated, a needs assessment needs to be completed. Within that assessment, the programs evaluation must be established as well in order to see what needs fixed. With my target population being adolescents, being able to reach them for the evaluation will be quite simple, through technological. Each teenager has a cell phone or some other electronic device that allows them to be connected to the web. Through this, the probability of getting the evaluations out there would be more direct with the results as well (CDC, n.d.). Process and outcome evaluation is working towards the same goal, yet they are focused on their own stages. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (1999), process evaluation is limited to the implementation of the program, while outcome evaluation is the effectiveness of the program. Both are critical parts of a health program, since it gives you before, real time, and after analysis of the program. The most important is the process evaluation, so you can determine what needs to be changed.
The program is going to centered around our adolescents within the community of Casper, Wyoming. Our main goal is to promote healthier lifestyles through the right diet and more physical activity. With the obesity rate rising more and more every year, some kind of intervention is needed. The mission is to raise the physical activity percentage and lower the obesity percentage. Objectives are to build two more health facilities that include typical gym equipment, but also classrooms to help teach adolescents about healthier lifestyle habits. We will also promote it in schools as well, to help educate them about good habits. Most adolescents in Casper are bored or think there is never anything to do. So, finding a way to channel that boredom would benefit them tremendously. Intervention means would be through the education, the health clubs, and just simply showing them results of what could be done in due time. Intervening at this age, they will go into adulthood being better role models for themselves, their children, and the people around them.
The stakeholders of this proprietary program would be the adolescents, the personal trainers, and wellness coaches, Of course, there will be many more that come along throughout the duration of the program; however, we will focus on these three. The main stakeholder would be the target population. Evaluating them would be through social media means, simply asking how much extra time they have on their hands throughout the day. Second stakeholder would be the personal trainers. Evaluation of these stakeholders would be their clientele levels, and how much they would be interested in group workout sessions. And finally, the wellness coaches that will consist of dieticians, yogi masters, and meditation consultant. Their evaluation would be their desired pay, what times would work best for them, and whether they would be willing to volunteer.
Evaluation Questions
- What is your allotted time throughout the day/how much extra time do you have in a day?
- How much time can you dedicate to the process goals of this program?
- What would be an exceptional incentive program to assist in the process of the program?
- Can you attend the new health club at least three times a week to implement personal and program goals?
- Would four hours a week be sufficient for assisting in or learning healthier lifestyle habits?
Evaluation Matrix
| Evaluation Question | Corresponding Program Objective(s) or Goals | Indicator(s) | Data Source | Collection Method | Data Collection Timeframe |
| What is your allotted time throughout the day/how much extra time do you have in a day? | Determining time of day that would work best for stakeholders. | Dates and times | Data will be calculated from the program coordinators | Social media platforms or google docs. | 180 days of collection time, from all stakeholders. |
| How much time can you dedicate to the process goals of this program? | Establishing the time to conduct the process of healthier living. | Time dedicated to the cause. | Program coordinators, personal trainers, and health club management | Social media, google docs, questionnaire at health club | 180 days of data collected |
| What would be an exceptional incentive program to assist in the process of the program? | Finding what is the most reoccurring incentive that can be distributed to people that implement goals. | Products | Data will be collected from the treasurer and coordinators | Social media, google docs, and email of interested individuals | 90 days. |
| Can you attend the new health club at least three times a week to implement personal and program goals? | Implementation of exercise and time in classroom to learn material. | Scanned in personal ID Cards | Sources will be from coordinators and health club management. Bar chart of most frequent times, personal trainers | Social media, email, and questionnaire at health club. Google docs as well | 90 days after clubs have been opened |
| Would four hours a week be sufficient for assisting in or learning healthier lifestyle habits? | Attempt to determine the amount of classroom time people would attend without losing interest | Class time and engagement | Teachers, dieticians, yogi masters, and meditation consultants | Classroom participation, social media, email, and google docs. | 90 days of classroom time. |
The types of data that will be collected will be specific for each evaluation question. With question one and two, since that data is both on a 180-day cycle, they will be collected the same, while the other three will be on their own time frame. Bar charts will be a specific graph to show certain times of day, and the amount of classroom time would be sufficient. With the incentive question, we will place it into a pool of related products, and determine the amount evaluated. The main method of data collection will be more non-traditional with the use of technology, social media, and google docs emails. In person evaluation can be conducted at the health clubs through traditional pen and paper collection. The evaluation wouldn’t take any more than five minutes of their time, which would be beneficial in today’s busy climate. To determine the quality of data, we would first need to ensure that the participant is willing to disclose their name and information. This gives us the ability to build more of a centered data collection for our target population and/or representations of them.
In conclusion, the evaluation timing needs to be perfect, right at the beginning of implementation, yet deep enough in to establish the advertisement for people’s awareness of the program. With our followers on social media, all evaluation data will be presented to them, without names of voters of course. For people without social media, we can use SMS messages and email messages. All these results will be given to all people showing interest, along with the community as a whole. When the entire community sees the results, they can begin giving us the best type of advertisement: word of mouth. As people begin to venture towards the program, we may be able to run another evaluation after the fiscal year. Staying on top of the evaluations and including new questions, we can stay up to date on new needs of the target population.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Types of Evaluation. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/std/program/pupestd/types%20of%20evaluation.pdf
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Sep. 17, 1999). Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4811a1.htm
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