Challenges Related to Evaluation and Reporting

Imagine that the funder of a public health program has commissioned a comprehensive evaluation of the program. The funder eagerly awaits the results of the evaluation, only to be disappointed when the results do not seem to reflect as dramatic a change as anticipated. Evaluations do not always yield the desired results. In a case such as the one described above, as a public health professional, how might you go back to a community and tell them that a program did not work? Familiarizing yourself with the challenges of evaluation and reporting will help you mitigate such challenges in the future.

For this week’s Discussion, review the media titled Challenges to Evaluation and Reporting. Consider the evaluation and reporting challenges described by the individuals involved in Mary Open Doors, Water Missions Belize, and the Ministry of Health, and the strategies to address those challenges. Think beyond those that are mentioned by the individuals in the media. Select one of the three public health programs in the media and consider additional challenges to evaluation and reporting.

Post a description of the public health program from Belize that you selected. Describe one potential additional challenge to evaluation and one additional challenge to reporting not mentioned by the individual and explain why they are challenging. Then, explain one strategy for addressing the evaluation challenge and one strategy for addressing the reporting challenge you chose.

References

Please use attached file (media)……………….Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012b). Challenges to evaluation and reporting. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Harris, M. J. (2017). Evaluating public and community health programs (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.