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Conducting Evaluations and Encouraging Utilization in Multidisciplinary Organizations: Experiences from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Child Advocacy Centers
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| Presenter(s):
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| Lisa M Jones,
University of New Hampshire,
lisa.jones@unh.edu
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| Wendy A Walsh,
University of New Hampshire,
wendy.walsh@unh.edu
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| Theodore P Cross,
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
tpcross@uiuc.edu
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| Abstract:
Multidisciplinary organizations are increasing and their structure creates challenges for conducting and institutionalizing outcome evaluation research. Child advocacy centers (CACs) are the fastest growing multidisciplinary model for investigations of child sexual abuse, bringing police, child protection, medical and legal professionals together in one agency to enhance the response to victims and their families. Yet, limited evaluation data about whom CACs serve and their impact on investigations has hampered the development of investigation policy and programs. This paper reports on the experiences collecting these data through a 5-year Multi-site Evaluation of CACs. Investigation procedure and outcome data were collected at four sites across the country using a replicated quasi-experimental design. This paper presents results from the research highlighting the challenges in working with multidisciplinary organizations to evaluate outcomes and utilize findings. Suggestions are provided for ways that evaluators can overcome challenges to evaluation in multidisciplinary settings.
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Evaluating a Multi-Level, Multi-Strategy Intervention to Decrease Childhood Obesity
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| Presenter(s):
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| Jenica Huddleston,
University of California Berkeley,
jenhud@berkeley.edu
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| Abstract:
Childhood obesity had increased dramatically over the last few decades, including children age 0-5. Traditional interventions often focus on individual behaviors without concern for options available to making healthier choices.
Innovative ways to address childhood obesity include intervening on multiple levels concurrently, such as the individual, community and policy levels. The intent is to use multiple avenues to change social norms around nutrition and activity for young children, their families and communities. Strategies include intervening at multiple levels related to: breastfeeding, accessible healthy foods, safe places for activity and improving food/ activity in childcare settings.
Evaluating a multi-level, multi-strategy intervention to reduce childhood obesity is complex. It is particularly difficult as the long-term goal will not likely be seen for many years. With this in mind, it is crucial to develop an evaluation plan that can track data on both short and long-term outcomes and provide needed information for sustainability.
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