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Session Title: Good, Better, Best: Evaluation Approaches to Determine Best Practices

Panel Session 630 to be held in Chesapeake Room on Friday, November 9, 1:55 PM to 3:25 PM

Sponsored by the Health Evaluation TIG

Chair(s):

James payday loan  Hersey payday loan ,  RTI International,  hersey@rti.org

Discussant(s):

Maureen payday loan  Wilce payday loan ,  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  mwilce@cdc.gov

Abstract: Best practice is a strategy to identify and promote excellence in practice that has been increasingly applied to public and private health programs. However, there is no standard template or approach to determining best practices. Therefore, various evaluation methods and approaches have been used to identify best practices. As a result, evaluators are at the forefront of the debate about -how to determine the best or most promising practices that work in public health programs? This session introduces best practice terminology, highlights recent literature regarding best practices, and presents three examples where program evaluation approaches have been used to determine best practices. Presenters will describe their best practice framework, evaluation methods and evidence standards, as well as, challenges and lessons learned.

Best Practices: Cutting Through the Buzzwords and Jargon Michael payday loan  Schooley payday loan ,  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  mschooley@cdc.gov Best practice has become a buzzword in many sectors to guide decision-making about resource investment and support of effective public health programs and practices. While there is no standard definition of best practice, the current debate provides a starting point for a working definition that considers diverse perspectives. For instance, best practices are generally context dependent, systematically reviewed, adoptable approaches to improve practice and desired outcomes. The varied approaches also offer some common principles and potential guidelines for evaluators facing the best practice challenge in public health and other arenas. This presentation will review recent literature regarding best practices and highlight the dilemmas and challenges in the field. A working definition and common principles will be identified to help guide evaluators in addressing the best practice dilemma in their setting.

Best Practices Evaluation: Lessons Learned in the Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation Program (WISEWOMAN) Rosanne payday loan  Farris payday loan ,  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  rfarris@cdc.gov Programmatic best practices refers to processes for implementing an intervention using the most appropriate strategies for a given population and setting. We identified best practices by systematically gathering practice-based evidence from the Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation program, operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This public health program screens midlife, un- or underinsured women for cardiovascular disease risk factors and provides lifestyle intervention. We will present the case study approach to identifying best practices, including research questions, logic model, data collection and analysis methods. Methods include quantitative program process and outcome data as well as qualitative data from interviews, observations and focus groups. Key best practice results will be highlighted as well as the toolkit for disseminating the practices. The best practice evaluation approach and findings may be useful to a broad range of practitioners interested in strategies to evaluate program practices.

Identifying Promising Practices in Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Pam payday loan  Williams-Piehota payday loan ,  RTI International,  ppiehota@rti.org The CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) funds state health departments to implement interventions focusing on policy and environmental supports that lead to system changes for heart disease and stroke prevention. However, best practices have yet to be identified for system-level interventions that states can implement to prevent heart disease and stroke events. In 2006, DHDSP funded a comprehensive evaluation of eight selected state programs as a step toward identifying promising, or best, practices in the field. This presentation will describe the process used to evaluate these programs in order to identify promising practices, including the identification of evaluation questions, development of an evaluation plan for each program, and data collection and analysis processes. The framework used to guide the evaluation and involvement of key stakeholders in the evaluation process will be discussed. Preliminary results will be presented along with a discussion of challenges and lessons learned.

A New Look at Outcomes for Targeted Testing and Treatment for Latent Tuberculosis Infection Programs Amy payday loan  Roussel payday loan ,  RTI International,  roussel@rti.org In 2000, the CDC Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE) funded 17 state and city programs to conduct 5-year targeted testing and treatment of Latent TB Infection (TTTLTBI) projects. The 17 grantees fielded 84 different interventions with varying target populations and activities. In 2003, CDC commissioned RTI International to conduct a stakeholder-driven best practices evaluation of the TTTLTBI projects. Stakeholders identified non-traditional outcomes as something they wanted to see emerge from this evaluation. This paper uses case studies to demonstrate the applicability of a broader perspective on effectiveness of public health programs by applying the Competing Values Framework (CVF) to 6 best practice TTTLTBI programs. The CVF integrates four models from the literature on organizational theory. Each model embodies a different set of values, beliefs, and assumptions about organizational effectiveness. Analysis applying this framework yields multiple dimensions of effectiveness for TTTLTBI programs and suggests a fresh perspective for best practices evaluation.