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’s evaluation plan and logic model will be available April 2025. It will provide 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 stakeholder's 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, and promoting quitting among smokers. The GTUPP evaluation plan is developed with stakeholder input and uses data to guide the program’s implementation. As outlined in the strategic evaluation plan, the evaluation focuses on evaluating the interventions that show the most impact among the affected populations. The plan is reviewed annually to align with program activities. The program interventions are outlined in the logic model. This also includes a specific focus on promoting quitting of all tobacco product use using strategies.

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 focus on supporting Georgia adolescents to develop healthy lifestyles to attain education, be employed, and become productive adults. The strategies are implemented strategically following the program goals. To ensure that the program goal is accomplished, the CDPS implements an evaluation plan designed to monitor the progress and effectiveness of the implemented strategies. The logical model outlines the direction and intended outcomes of program implementation.. Based on the evaluation findings, recommendations are made to continuously improve the quality of the program implementation and to achieve program goals.

Prevention and Management of Diabetes to Improving the Health of Americans (2320)

Georgia’s 2320 program implements evidence-based strategies to prevent and address diabetes management and type 2 diabetes prevention by implementing community clinical linkages and health systems transformation strategies. The priority populations in these select communities represent adults at high risk for type 2 diabetes who experience racial/ethnic or socioeconomic disparities, individuals 65+ years, and people with limited health literacy that contribute to this health condition. Georgia 2320 program uses the evaluation plan for continuous monitoring and evaluation which will help maintain alignment with proposed strategies, identify the progress of activities, and offer required changes to improve the program. The evaluation plan is summarized in this logic model.

Cardiovascular Health Program (2304)

Georgia has implemented evidence-based strategies to address cardiovascular disease (CVD) in communities across the state that bear a significant burden of these conditions. High-burden populations are those disproportionately affected by high blood pressure and high cholesterol often due to socioeconomic factors such as inadequate access to care, poor quality of care, or low income. Georgia's approach encompasses targeted strategies for CVD prevention and management. The program continually monitors and evaluates these strategies using an aligned evaluation Plan with the 2304 activities to demonstrate program accomplishments and strengthen evidence for effective interventions. The program's logic model outlines how interventions lead to intended outcomes.

Comprehensive Cancer Control Program

The Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Control 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 to improve the health status of 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 plan to guide program activities and determine the effectiveness of program interventions. The logic model is used as a guide for program success.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (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 makes data-informed recommendations for improvement in program outcomes and ensures that the established indicators are achieved. The strategies follow a defined logic model that outlines how the planned activities lead to anticipated outcomes. Progress 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 was a 3-year program that focused 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 and following this logic model , the evaluation of CCR the program focused on determining the effectiveness of training, deploying and engaging CHWS in the local communities. At the end of the project the Georgia program achieved all of its set goals. The program evaluation report showcases the program’s achievements which was to build an infrastructure of the CHWs in Georgia with the goal to improve health outcomes among identified priority populations.

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 challenges existing social norms. The purpose of the GA-SVPP evaluation plan is to monitor if strategic activities are implemented as planned and determine the program effectiveness and impact. The logic model is used as a roadmap for program activities.

Healthy Communities Initiative

The Healthy Communities Initiatives (HCI) encourages the implementation of strategies from the National Prevention 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. The program monitors the implementation of the initiatives through the logic model to guide the efficiency of resources.

Additional Resources

Last reviewed 11/8/2024