Evaluating Peer-based Youth Programs: Barriers and Enablers

Lobo, Roanna; McManus, Alexandra; Brown, Graham; Hildebrand, Janina; Maycock, Bruce

doi:10.1177/1035719x1001000106

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Strategies for building evaluation capacity and creating sustainable evaluation practice are also well documented [ 36 ]. Yet barriers to translating this knowledge into health promotion practice clearly remain [ 34 , 37 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting health promotion practitioners to undertake evaluation for program development

Lobo¹,

Petrich

Burns³

2014

BMC Public Health

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BackgroundThe vital role of evaluation as integral to program planning and program development is well supported in the literature, yet we find little evidence of this in health promotion practice. Evaluation is often a requirement for organisations supported by public funds, and is duly undertaken, however the quality, comprehensiveness and use of evaluation findings are lacking. Practitioner peer-reviewed publications presenting evaluation work are also limited. There are few published examples where evaluation is conducted as part of a comprehensive program planning process or where evaluation findings are used for program development in order to improve health promotion practice.DiscussionFor even the smallest of programs, there is a diverse array of evaluation that is possible before, during and after program implementation. Some types of evaluation are less prevalent than others. Data that are easy to collect or that are required for compliance purposes are common. Data related to how and why programs work which could be used to refine and improve programs are less commonly collected. This finding is evident despite numerous resources and frameworks for practitioners on how to conduct effective evaluation and increasing pressure from funders to provide evidence of program effectiveness. We identify several organisational, evaluation capacity and knowledge translation factors which contribute to the limited collection of some types of data. In addition, we offer strategies for improving health promotion program evaluation and we identify collaboration of a range of stakeholders as a critical enabler for improved program evaluation.SummaryEvaluation of health promotion programs does occur and resources for how to conduct evaluation are readily available to practitioners. For the purposes of program development, multi-level strategies involving multiple stakeholders are required to address the organisational, capacity and translational factors that affect practitioners’ ability to undertake adequate evaluation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting health promotion practitioners to undertake evaluation for program development

Lobo¹,

Petrich

Burns³

2014

BMC Public Health

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“…Gabbe, C. Rissel, T. Shilton, B.J. Smith, unpublished) . Additionally, organisations that delivered statewide and national programs were found to have adjusted mean quality scores 38% higher than locally oriented organisations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…We were also surprised to find that having an internal evaluation role or working with university evaluators was not associated with the evaluation quality as literature concerning evidence generation and use in health promotion consistently highlight the potential benefits of such relationships . A lack of access to evaluation expertise and insufficient resources have been frequently identified as barriers to health promotion evaluation . Working in partnership with external evaluators has been proposed by practitioners as a potential solution to overcoming barriers to evaluation .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The predominance of surveys is likely because self‐reported measures are a feasible and affordable way to collect data on a range of indicators compared to objective measures . Contrary to this, studies exploring the barriers and facilitators to evaluation in health promotion organisations indicated that staff were reluctant to use surveys to collect data from disadvantaged or youth populations, and identified a need for alternative data collection methods that were suitable for these specific contexts …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An assessment of program evaluation methods and quality in Australian prevention agencies

Schwarzman

Nau

Bauman

et al. 2019

Health Prom J of Aust

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Issue addressed: This study aimed to examine evaluation methods and quality in Australian health promotion agencies and the factors associated with this. The evidence base for prevention strategies is limited, with the evidence generated through program evaluation by health promotion and disease prevention agencies lacking rigour. Despite the need to improve the quality of evaluation, there is limited evidence of what influences evaluation quality in the prevention field. Methods: Data were collected using the Evaluation Practice Analysis Survey and an audit and appraisal of evaluation reports. Descriptive analysis was used to examine evaluation characteristics and multivariable regression was used to explore the association between evaluation and organisational attributes and evaluation quality. Results: In total, 392 evaluation reports were reviewed from 78 government and non-government agencies. Process evaluation was conducted most frequently, followed by impact evaluation. Overall evaluation quality was low (median 24.5%). In multivariable regression analysis, only two factors were associated with evaluation quality: health promotion budget (ratio of geometric means 1.53 [95% CI 1.02-2.29]); and, conducting statewide or national prevention programs (1.38 [95% CI 1.05-1.82]). Conclusions: The findings show that the potential to improve evaluation quality is greatest in smaller organisations that deliver health promotion at a local or regional scale. So what? By improving the rigour of existing evaluation, there is opportunity to build the evidence base for prevention strategies, which highlights the importance of embedding the enablers of program learning and evidence generation within health promotion and prevention organisations. K E Y W O R D S evidence-based practice, government, health equity, health promotion, non-government organisations, primary prevention, program evaluation | 457 SCHWARZMAN et Al. 2 | ME THODS 2.1 | Evaluation in health promotion study The evaluation in health promotion study was conducted in Australia between 2015 and 2018. Government and non-government health promotion and disease prevention agencies were recruited from New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia (n = 116) to take part in up to three phases of data collection: (1) qualitative interviews; (2) the Evaluation Practice Analysis Survey (EPAS); and (3) review and appraisal of evaluation reports. Phases 1 and 2 have been described elsewhere (

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“…In addition to research conducted in academic settings, providers of peer-led health programs could be empowered to build the evidence base. Recommendations include improving service providers’ access to practical evaluation tools; developing their knowledge and skills in evaluation techniques; and providing additional funding to support rigorous data collection ( 60 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Youth Peer-Led Health Promotion in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States: A Systematic Review of the Approaches, Study Designs, and Effectiveness

Vujcich

Thomas

Crawford

et al. 2018

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundYouth peer-led interventions have become a popular way of sharing health information with young people and appear well suited to Indigenous community contexts. However, no systematic reviews focusing on Indigenous youth have been published. We conducted a systematic review to understand the range and characteristics of Indigenous youth-led health promotion projects implemented and their effectiveness.MethodsA systematic search of Medline, Embase, and ProQuest Social Sciences databases was conducted, supplemented by gray literature searches. Included studies focused on interventions where young Indigenous people delivered health information to age-matched peers.ResultsTwenty-four studies were identified for inclusion, based on 20 interventions (9 Australian, 4 Canadian, and 7 from the United States of America). Only one intervention was evaluated using a randomized controlled study design. The majority of evaluations took the form of pre–post studies. Methodological limitations were identified in a majority of studies. Study outcomes included improved knowledge, attitude, and behaviors.ConclusionCurrently, there is limited high quality evidence for the effectiveness of peer-led health interventions with Indigenous young people, and the literature is dominated by Australian-based sexual health interventions. More systematic research investigating the effectiveness of peer-led inventions is required, specifically with Indigenous populations. To improve health outcomes for Indigenous youth, greater knowledge of the mechanisms and context under which peer-delivered health promotion is effective in comparison to other methods of health promotion is needed.

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Evaluating Peer-based Youth Programs: Barriers and Enablers

Cited by 14 publications

References 14 publications

Supporting health promotion practitioners to undertake evaluation for program development

Supporting health promotion practitioners to undertake evaluation for program development

An assessment of program evaluation methods and quality in Australian prevention agencies

Indigenous Youth Peer-Led Health Promotion in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States: A Systematic Review of the Approaches, Study Designs, and Effectiveness

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