Evaluation

Purpose

The Chronic Disease Prevention Section (CDPS) is committed to efficient, effective and equitable delivery of programs to improve health outcomes for Georgians. To this end the section has an evaluation office that collaborates with stakeholders to carry out program evaluations for all programs within the section. The broad goal of the evaluation office is to

ascertain that program activities throughout the section are carried out efficiently, equitably and are aligning with the program goals and strategies,
investigate any significant barriers to program activities and how to overcome them as early as possible; and
highlight any lessons learned and emphasize facilitators which promote program success.

The responsibilities of the evaluation office include:

Developing methodology to gather needed information
Providing program outcome data and producing audience-specific reports
Conducting process and outcome evaluations of CDPS programs and initiatives to determine reach, adherence to evidence-based and best practices, quality and effectiveness
Guiding program planning to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in all CDPS interventions.

Working in collaboration with diverse stakeholders, the evaluation office monitors the following program within CDPS and makes data-driven recommendations for quality improvement of the programs.

Asthma Control Program

The Georgia Asthma Control Program (GACP) has worked to decrease rates of uncontrolled asthma, asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits, and asthma-related hospitalizations, particularly in children living in high-burden areas since 2001. GACP implements the strategies proposed in the EXHALE technical package- including guidelines-base medical management, asthma-self management education, and home visits. GACP has a strategic Evaluation Plan as a roadmap that lays out the direction, rationale, scope, and sequence of program evaluation activities during the 5-year cooperative agreement cycle. The plan is a living document that will be reviewed annually to ensure its continued alignment with the program and stakeholders needs. GACP has adapted the logic model which describes the relationships between the program’s activities and its intended outcomes.

Georgia Tobacco Use Prevention Program (GTUPP)

The Georgia Tobacco Use Prevention Program (GTUPP) mirrors the National Tobacco Control Program framework whose goals are preventing tobacco use initiation among youth and young adults, protecting nonsmokers from secondhand smoke, promoting quitting among smokers. GTUPP evaluation plan is developed with stakeholder input and uses data to guide the program’s implementation. The evaluation as outlined in the strategic evaluation plan focuses on evaluating the interventions that show most impact among the affected populations. The plan is reviewed annually to align with program activities. The program interventions are as outlined in the logic model . The program also has a specific focus on promoting quitting of all tobacco product use using strategies as outlined in the logic model .

Adolescent Health and Youth Development (AHYD):

The Adolescent Health and Youth Development (AHYD) program focuses on helping youth become successful adults by preventing unintended pregnancies and STDs/HIV by using the Positive Youth Development (PYD) model, as recommended by the CDC. The Georgia AHYD program implements strategies that focuses on supporting Georgia adolescents to develop healthy lifestyles to attain education, be employed and become productive adults. To ensure that the program goal is accomplished, the CDPS implements a strategic evaluation plan designed to monitor the progress and effectiveness of the implemented strategies. Based on the evaluation findings, recommendations are made to continuously improve the quality of the program implementation and to achieve program goals.

Improving the Health of Americans through Prevention and Management of Diabetes and Heart Disease and Stroke. (1815/1817)

Georgia implements evidence-based strategies to prevent and manage diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in high- burden populations/communities within the state. High burden populations are those affected disproportionately by high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, or prediabetes due to socioeconomic or other characteristics, including inadequate access to care, poor quality of care, or low income. Georgia implements the selected strategies that focus on diabetes management and type 2 diabetes prevention and CVD prevention and management. The Georgia program uses the evaluation plan for continuous monitoring and evaluation of 1815/1817 activities to demonstrate program accomplishments and strengthen the evidence for strategy implementation.

Comprehensive Cancer Control Program

The Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Con trol Program (GCCCP) goals mirror the national cancer prevention and control goals which are to eliminate preventable cancers, ensure all people get the right screening at the right time for the best outcome, and support cancer survivors in a manner that allows them to live longer, healthier lives. The strategies that GCCCP implements are comprehensive and coordinated with the goal to improve the health status for the entire population while also seeking to reduce gaps in health status by targeting specific population groups that are disproportionately burdened by the increased risk of cancer. The program activities are monitored and evaluated using an evaluation pla n to guide program activities and determine the effectiveness of program interventions.

SNAP-Ed

Georgia DPH Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (GA DPH SNAP-Ed) aims to increase the knowledge and self-help of people receiving government assistance by providing them with education and offering support that makes healthy choices the easier and preferred choice for families living on a limited budget. The GA DPH SNAP-Ed strives to achieve this through the implementation of evidence-based interventions in 5 health districts in Georgia. The interventions include Direct Nutrition Education, Community Garden Initiative and Social Marketing Campaigns. Using the national SNAP-Ed evaluation framework, the GA DPH SNAP-Ed evaluation plan assesses community needs and readiness for interventions, guides program implementation and make data-informed recommendation for improvement in program outcomes and ensures that the established indicators are achieved. This is achieved through continuous collaboration with the GADPH SNAP-Ed program management team, funded health districts and community-based organizations and partners.

Community Health Workers for COVID-19 Response and Resilient (CHWI)

The Georgia Community Health Workers for COVID-19 Response and Resilient within CDPS is a newly instituted 3-year program that focuses on addressing COVID-19 and underlying conditions among populations that are at high risk for developing chronic conditions throughout Georgia. Working in collaboration with stakeholders to maintain alignment with strategies , the evaluation of CCR the program will focus on determining the effectiveness of strategy implementation. The evaluation plan aims to guide the quality of the activities undertaken by various stakeholders and to maintain alignment with proposed strategies during the project period.

Georgia Sexual Violence Prevention Program (RPE)

The Georgia Sexual Violence Prevention Program(GA-SVPP) is a unified approach involving prevention, education, advocacy, and collaboration implemented throughout the state of Georgia to reduce the risk factors and increase the protective factors associated with sexual violence perpetration and victimization. GA-SVPP implements interventions at the individual and community levels through taskforces to ensure local level alignment of activities with state level goals and objectives, secure local level buy-in, and inform sexual violence prevention messaging that challenge existing social norms. The purpose of GA-SVPP evaluation plan is to monitor if strategic activities are implemented as planned and determine the program effectiveness and impact.

Health Communities Initiative

The Healthy Communities Initiatives (HCI) encourages the implementation of strategies that create health communities throughout Georgia through the adoption of healthy systems, policies and environments. The initiatives are led by the local public health districts and implemented through community engagement, partnerships, and coalitions using the CDC Healthy People framework as a backbone. While the CDPS is working on evaluating HCI impact within the next 2 years, the program monitors the implementation of the initiatives to guide efficiency of resources.

Additional Resources

Last updated 12/20/2022