Implementing a Health Program

Instructions

Implementing a Health Program

Using the South University Online Library or the Internet, identify a health program in your community.

Utilizing resources such as interviews of key staff and web searches, compile your observations about the program into a 5- to 8-slide presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint. Your presentation must include the following:

• The name of the program, where it is located (community health center, local health department, healthcare organization), and a detailed description of the program.
• A detailed explanation of the characteristics of the population that the program serves.
• An analysis of the reasons for implementing the program in this particular locality and population.
• Suggestions for improving the program in the community. Include your own suggestions as well as suggestions received from your interactions with staff members of the program.

Submission Details:

Cite any sources in APA format. Must have reference page.

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PHE4055 Public Health Planning and Evaluation

© 2013 South University

Public Health Planning Process

This flowchart demonstrates the cyclical nature of public health program planning. The chart also shows that the
stages of the planning and evaluation processes are interconnected.

Public Health Planning

Health program planning begins with the basic awareness of a public health need—a need that can be addressed
by some sort of intervention program. This phase may be revisited after a needs assessment has been
conducted. By revisiting this stage, program planners may clarify the priorities for the intended program.

Establish Priorities

Health program planners may have a general sense of the priorities for a public health plan before conducting a
formal needs assessment. However, those priorities may change, based on the results of the needs assessment.

Needs Assessment

The first formal step in the program planning process is to conduct a needs assessment.

This will determine whether there is a need that can be met by a public health program. The assessment may help
to clarify the priorities for the program. The assessment can also identify assets within a community that may be
used to help implement the program.

Problem Statement

When the needs assessment is complete, the program planners must create a concise statement of the public
health problem. This statement is the foundation of any intervention program. The problem statement answer the

“why?” question: Why do we need this program?

Program Planning & Design

This planning of any intervention program begins with a statement of the problem. The program must address the
problem that has been identified by the planners. If the program is an ongoing program, then plans may be
revisited after the first program evaluations have been completed.

Program Theory

If the problem statement answers the “why?” question, then the program theory answers the “what?” question:
What type of intervention is most appropriate in order to achieve the desired result?

Program Implementation

Program implementation addresses the “how?” question: How is the public health intervention to be delivered?
The “how?” question is also linked to such day-to-day functions of the program as:

• How do we fund the program?

• How many staff members are necessary?

Budgets must be developed and funds must be spent. Also, the public health professionals who are running the
program must respond to any information about the process that they receive.

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PHE4055 Public Health Planning and Evaluation

© 2013 South University

Process Evaluation

Once the program has begun, the public health professionals who are running the program begin to evaluate the
day-to-day functions of the program:

• Is the intervention reaching its target audience?

• Are the funds being spent properly?

The answers to these types of questions are the process findings.

Process Findings

As the program is running, data about the process is collected. These process findings are assessed by the public
health professionals who are running the program. They use the process findings to make adjustments to the
program during the implementation phase.

Program Planning & Design

There are many strategic issues associated with program planning. Health professionals must identify the right
target populations for an intervention, yet they must be sensitive about the way in which they state the needs for
an intervention. If a key population is ignored, or community sensitivities are not considered, a health program
might face significant opposition before it is implemented.

Program Implementation

In the program implementation phase, strategic issues include communication with key stakeholders and effective
management of resources. For instance, imagine a health program that targeted residents of a county town in
Southern California. Suppose that details of the program were communicated via public service announcements

(PSAs) on the radio. If those PSAs were only recorded in English, then it’s likely that many members of the
community would not hear the message, and the program would reach fewer intended recipients.

Public Health Outcome

Evaluating participant outcomes is a strategic challenge because participant outcomes for any public health
program must be communicated to key stakeholders. For instance, a key stakeholder for any health program is
always the funding organization. If participant outcomes are not communicated effectively, funding for the
program could be reduced or eliminated.

Process of Planning and Evaluation

The process of planning and evaluation is cyclical and their activities are interdependent. The activities happen in stages; the end of one activity or program leads to the next. The ideas, insights, and learning derived from a particular stage are likely to affect the decisions and activities of the next stage.

Despite this, the process of planning and evaluation is usually presented in a linear manner with sequential steps. The cycle is often affected by external influences. Planners and evaluators need to be flexible in responding to these influences

Health Program Models

Good health programs involve a good deal of effort and a well-developed model. These models provide direction and structure to the program to be built on. The models may not be used completely during the planning process, or various parts of the model may be combined to suit the program. There are some commonly used models in health program planning:

· Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation (PRECEDE)-Policy, Regulatory, and Organizational Constructs in Educational and Environmental Development (PROCEED): Commonly known as the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, it is the most well-known model in this field because it is theoretically grounded and comprehensive. Planning, implementation, and evaluation are all combined in this model.

· The Model for Health Education Planning (MHEP) analyzes:

· Planning through six phases

· Content through three dimensions―subject matter, method, and process

· The Comprehensive Health Education Model (CHEM) consists of six major steps and several suggested procedures within each step.

· The Model for Health Education Planning and Resource Development (MHEPRD) is a less known model. The five major components of this model are―health education plans, demonstration programs, educational programs, research programs, and information and statistics. Each component represents the end result of the planning process. In this model, evaluation plays an integral part in each phase of the model.