Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Practical approaches to health needs assessment, needs prioritization, health program planning, and health program evaluation in low-to-middle income countries and/or resource-poor settings. Gender-based analyses are emphasized throughout. A case study approach.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course is an introduction to community and public health program planning and evaluation concepts, theories, frameworks and approaches. The first part of the course will focus on program planning, and will include community assessment, stakeholder involvement, program planning models, and logic models. The second part of the course will focus on evaluating public health programs and will include types of evaluation, evaluation approaches and theories, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis strategies, community engagement, evaluation design, implementation and reporting. Critical reflection on public health programs will be encouraged and students will examine common ethical issues when applying evaluation approaches to develop and improve health programs and policies. Class discussions and activities will use case study examples from local and global contexts to contextualize the ethical and appropriate application of program planning and evaluation concepts presented in class and readings. The emphasis for practical skills development will be on developing an assessment plan for program planning, and on designing a group health program evaluation proposal. Students will critically assess existing programs and will be challenged to reflect on ethical issues in program planning, implementation and evaluation, including their own social positioning relative to others and the implications that this has on program planning and evaluation practices in local and global contexts. By the end of the course, students will demonstrate introductory level capabilities in undertaking a variety of approaches and methods for conducting health program planning and evaluation among populations in various contexts.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

1. Explain the basic elements of program planning and evaluation in public health and illustrate the linkages between health program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
2. Apply a health program planning model and formulate an assessment plan for a particular population in a local or global context, including the use of relevant and appropriate data, information sources and tools.
3. Distinguish different types of evaluations and justify when and why to use them for evaluating public health programs.
4. Develop an evaluation plan for a public health program that involves formulating evaluation questions, selecting appropriate methodologies and approaches, data analysis techniques and reporting strategies.
5. Examine different evaluation approaches and theories (e.g. participatory evaluation, empowerment evaluation and utilization-focused evaluation, etc.) in relation to pubic health programs.
6. Apply a reporting strategy to share evaluation results, and to facilitate the use of public health evaluation findings. 
7. Critically assess the effectiveness, appropriateness and feasibility of public health program for specific local contexts and how this may be assessed through a formal evaluation process.
8. Engage in self-reflection about one’s own social positioning relative to others in program planning and evaluation processes and the ethical implications for public health practice.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: