| Session Title: Evaluation Efforts in Global AIDS Public Health |
| Multipaper Session 348 to be held in Sebastian Section L2 on Thursday, Nov 12, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM |
| Sponsored by the International and Cross-cultural Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Thomas Chapel, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tkc4@cdc.gov |
| Discussant(s): |
| Thomas Chapel, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tkc4@cdc.gov |
| Abstract: Strengthening basic program evaluation capacity in international settings requires coordination of multiple agencies, sectors, and parties. This may make evaluation appear complex and challenging to country teams, who are already juggling multiple competing priorities, and can deter them from making program evaluation a routine and systematic activity. However, when evaluation is undertaken in this context, factors such as stakeholder buy-in, organizational and country's culture, human and financial resources, among others need to be considered. This session discusses evaluation initiatives where staff from the CDC's Global AIDS Program, along with colleagues from other agencies, provided technical assistance to partners or grantees in international settings. The presentations will describe how each evaluation effort evolved, the strategies used to engage stakeholders, barriers and facilitators of the process, perceptions by the partners on how it has changed their evaluation practice, and lessons from the CDC experience. |
| Program Evaluation in Action |
| Yamir Salabarria-Pena, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ycs8@cdc.gov |
| Roger Myrick, University of California San Francisco, rogermyrick@yahoo.com |
| Laura Porter, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lgp4@cdc.gov |
| Lela Baughman, ICF Macro, lela.n.baughman@macrointernational.com |
| David Cotton, ICF Macro, david.a.cotton@macrointernational.com |
| Warren Passin, ICF Macro, warren.f.passin@macrointernational.com |
| Paulyne Ngalame, ICF Macro, pdn8@cdc.gov |
| A program evaluation (PE) capacity building initiative was developed by the CDC/GAP in response to requests from field staff about the need for more PE activities, strengthening PE capacity in country and more emphasis on the "E" component of Monitoring and Evaluation. This is Phase 1 of the initiative aimed at demystifying PE and presenting it as a practical program tool which is need driven, and whose implementation can be completed in a short period of time i.e., 6 months. Countries committed to go through a step-by-step process of PE will be selected to participate. The initiative will cover activities such as evaluability assessment all the way to monitoring the use of results for program improvement. This session will present examples from the field where this initiative is undertaken and will identify: (1) steps used to conduct PE in international settings (2) facilitators, challenges, and (3) lessons learned. The ultimate goal is to increase the number of countries that plan, implement, and use evaluation results routinely to inform program planning and make decisions. |
| How to Design a Process Evaluation in an International Setting |
| Helen Coehlo, ICF Macro, helen.m.coelho@macrointernational.com |
| Yamir Salabarria-Pena, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ycs8@cdc.gov |
| Roberto Leon, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rleon@gt.cdc.gov |
| Cecilia Arango, MINSA-Panama, dra.arangocecilia@gmail.com |
| Gladys Guerrero, MINSA-Panama, gguerrero@minsa.gob.pa |
| Cristina Gómez, MINSA-Panama, crislin25@hotmail.com |
| Maria Mastelari, MINSA-Panama, mariacmastelari@hotmail.com |
| Yira Ibarra, MINSA-Panama, drayira@yahoo.com |
| As a result of a basic program evaluation (BPE) capacity building initiative in the Central America region, assistance (TA) was requested by the Ministry of Health of the Republic Panamá to determine the reasons why not all patients with Tuberculosis (TB) are tested for HIV according to national TB guidelines. This presentation will address the process of designing a process evaluation in an international setting, ways to overcome obstacles, lessons learned, and recommendations. Country partners are committed to actively engage in all phases of this project, which responds to the country's needs. To date meetings have occurred with multiple stakeholders from MOH and CDC on process evaluation design. As a result an evaluation protocol was designed to include a multi-site process evaluation. As project progresses, lessons learned of the actual evaluation study will be documented and presented. It is expected that this experience will increase the likelihood that other countries in the region will value evaluation as a practical and rigorous tool that can provide useful information for program planning and to improve program performance. |