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Session Title: Enhancing the Quality of Evaluation Through Collaboration Among Funders, Programs, and Evaluators: The Example of the New York City Health Bucks Program Evaluation
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Panel Session 227 to be held in BONHAM E on Thursday, Nov 11, 9:15 AM to 10:45 AM
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Sponsored by the Collaborative, Participatory & Empowerment Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Jan Jernigan, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ddq8@cdc.gov
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| Abstract:
In response to the growing public health crisis of childhood obesity, the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is working to identify promising local obesity prevention and control interventions. In support of this activity, CDC has funded Abt Associates Inc. to conduct a process and outcome evaluation of one such program, New York City Health Bucks, an innovative financial incentive program operated by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to increase access to and purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables in three high-need, underserved NYC neighborhoods.
Panel presenters from CDC, DOHMH, and Abt will discuss how collaboration among these key entities has led to the design and implementation of a high-quality, methodologically sound evaluation, which builds on DOHMH’s prior evaluation efforts, and which will inform both CDC and other localities interested in implementing similar initiatives.
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The Intersection of Quality and Collaboration: From a Funder's Perspective
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| Gayle Payne, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hfn5@cdc.gov
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| Jan Jernigan, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ddq8@cdc.gov
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Improving nutrition through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is an important objective of the CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Nutrition (DNPAO). One recommended strategy is to utilize farm-to-where-you-are programs that promote the delivery of regionally grown produce to farmers’ markets. DNPAO collaborated with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) and Abt Associates, the selected contractor, to evaluate the NYC Health Bucks Program designed to increase access to fruits and vegetables for low income families. This presentation will describe the ways that DNPAO, as Technical Monitor of the evaluation, collaborated with DOHMH and Abt to facilitate common goals and promote an effective evaluation, highlighting, in particular, how collaborative efforts addressed evaluation challenges related to OMB submission and different organizational guidelines and regulations, and describe the benefits of collaboration on evaluation efforts related to developing evaluation questions, data collection plans and analytic techniques.
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The Intersection of Quality and Collaboration: From a Program's Perspective
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| Sabrina Baronberg, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, sbaronbe@health.nyc.gov
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The New York City Health Department's Health Bucks (HB) are designed to improve access to and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in underserved neighborhoods while supporting local farmers and farmers' markets. In order to ensure the success of the program, the Health Department has collaborated with over 150 community groups/sites and over 50 farmers markets run by more than 10 different organizations. This presentation will describe how collaboration has been key to high HB coupon redemption rates, accountability, and overall successful program implementation. The presenter will also discuss the Department’s own evaluation efforts and findings to date, including how the program has benefited both farmers and city residents, as well as how the commitment to collaborating with partnering agencies such as the CDC and Abt is helping to ensure accurate and reliable evaluation measures, augmenting the Department’s own evaluation efforts, and serving to disseminate best practices to the field.
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The Intersection of Quality and Collaboration: From an Evaluator's Perspective
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| Yvonne Abel, Abt Associates Inc, yvonne_abel@abtassoc.com
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| Lauren Olsho, Abt Associates Inc, lauren_olsho@abtassoc.com
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| Debbie Walker, Abt Associates Inc, debbie_walker@abtassoc.com
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| Cristina Booker, Abt Associates Inc, cristina_booker@abtassoc.com
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| Jacey Greece, Abt Associates Inc, jacey_greece@abtassoc.com
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| Cheryl Hewitt, Abt Associates Inc, cheryl_hewitt@abtassoc.com
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| Leah Staub-DeLong, Abt Associates Inc, leah_staub-delong@abtassoc.com
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Abt Associates has been funded by the CDC to conduct an evaluation of the New York City Health Bucks Program operated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). Key staff from the Abt evaluation team will discuss how collaboration with the CDC and DOHMH in the formative phase of the evaluation has informed and improved the quality of the evaluation plan, data collection instruments, and dissemination efforts. For example, DOHMH provided pre-existing surveys and detailed information about local evaluation and monitoring activities, thus avoiding duplication of effort and excess burden on respondents. Similarly, the CDC’s technical feedback and facilitation of contact with content experts and researchers ensured a robust and technically sound evaluation design. Finally, we will describe lessons learned, including the need for coordination across multiple agencies' standards and guidelines and efforts to disseminate information to wider audiences.
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