Evaluation of the 2012 18th Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Epidemiology and 22nd CityMatCH MCH Urban Leadership Conference: Six Month Impact on Science, Program, and Policy

Abstract

The 18th Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Epidemiology and 22nd CityMatCH MCH Urban Leadership Conference took place in December 2012, covering MCH science, program, and policy issues. Assessing the impact of the Conference on attendees’ work 6 months post-Conference provides information critical to understanding the impact and the use of new partnerships, knowledge, and skills gained during the Conference. Evaluation assessments, which included collection of quantitative and qualitative data, were administered at two time points: at Conference registration and 6 months post-Conference. The evaluation files were merged using computer IP address, linking responses from each assessment. Percentages of attendees reporting Conference impacts were calculated from quantitative data, and common themes and supporting examples were identified from qualitative data. Online registration was completed by 650 individuals. Of registrants, 30 % responded to the 6 month post-Conference assessment. Between registration and 6 month post-Conference evaluation, the distribution of respondents did not significantly differ by organizational affiliation. In the 6 months following the Conference, 65 % of respondents reported pursuing a networking interaction; 96 % shared knowledge from the Conference with coworkers and others in their agency; and 74 % utilized knowledge from the Conference to translate data into public health action. The Conference produced far-reaching impacts among Conference attendees. The Conference served as a platform for networking, knowledge sharing, and attaining skills that advance the work of attendees, with the potential of impacting organizational and workforce capacity. Increasing capacity could improve MCH programs, policies, and services, ultimately impacting the health of women, infants, and children.

Measuring continuing medical education conference impact and attendee experience: a scoping review

“…A second study reported using a partially validated tool, 77 and specifically focused on how the conference impacted self-assessment of comfort with providing end of life care. For the remaining studies, 13 (18% of those using surveys/interviews) described using an evaluation framework to inform their study, including tool development, 3 , 22 , 29 , 38 , 41 , 49 , 55 , 64 , 68 , 69 , 74 , 83 of which 3 22 , 64 , 69 referenced the same primary source 70 – a scoping review whose goal was to develop a conference evaluation framework. Of the remaining 24 (32% of those using surveys/interviews), only two studies reported performing any pilot testing of their tool, 42 , 54 with an additional three 29 , 72 , 80 suggesting the work itself represented a pilot study for tool assessment.…”

Conference Evaluation Focusing on Learning and Transfer

“…for doctoral students at scholarly conferences (Chapman et al, 2009) and professional development (Harrison, 2010). Arellano et al (2014) concludes that the aim of most conferences is to a greater or lesser extent to provide participants with knowledge they can use in their daily practice.…”