Why an Evaluation Plan
Staff context:
The DEC clinic is staffed by a caring and committed interdisciplinary team. The team collectively brings years of experience and knowledge of diabetes care and management. There is extensive collaboration that occurs between disciplines as care is coordinated and delivered by core teams of RN and RD staff that is overseen by a staff endocrinologist, program manager and coordinator. The program is a regional program with some indirect funding sources attached to the Ontario Ministry of Health and more direct sources known as Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN). The staff have experienced some challenges related to complex evaluation methods and lack of utilization of findings in the past. Based on these challenges, an evaluation approach that engages the team as stakeholders to participate in the evaluation process was envisioned. The staff’s past experiences, attitudes and knowledge level of evaluation will need to be considered in the development and implementation of the evaluation.
Is the program effective?
Based on the internal and external (Ministry) stakeholders, the need to determine program effectiveness in relation to meeting the Ontario Diabetes Strategy targets has been identified. Whether the program demonstrates the behaviour change outcomes identified in the Ontario Diabetes Strategy can be determined through an evaluation. By utilizing a mixed-method approach to determine client behaviour outcomes, the results of the evaluation is anticipated to provide the team valuable information that they can use to determine the program's effectiveness.
Tying it together
By engaging the key stakeholders in the program, planning the approach to the evaluation will maximize the potential that the evaluation will meet their needs.
The DEC clinic is staffed by a caring and committed interdisciplinary team. The team collectively brings years of experience and knowledge of diabetes care and management. There is extensive collaboration that occurs between disciplines as care is coordinated and delivered by core teams of RN and RD staff that is overseen by a staff endocrinologist, program manager and coordinator. The program is a regional program with some indirect funding sources attached to the Ontario Ministry of Health and more direct sources known as Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN). The staff have experienced some challenges related to complex evaluation methods and lack of utilization of findings in the past. Based on these challenges, an evaluation approach that engages the team as stakeholders to participate in the evaluation process was envisioned. The staff’s past experiences, attitudes and knowledge level of evaluation will need to be considered in the development and implementation of the evaluation.
Is the program effective?
Based on the internal and external (Ministry) stakeholders, the need to determine program effectiveness in relation to meeting the Ontario Diabetes Strategy targets has been identified. Whether the program demonstrates the behaviour change outcomes identified in the Ontario Diabetes Strategy can be determined through an evaluation. By utilizing a mixed-method approach to determine client behaviour outcomes, the results of the evaluation is anticipated to provide the team valuable information that they can use to determine the program's effectiveness.
Tying it together
By engaging the key stakeholders in the program, planning the approach to the evaluation will maximize the potential that the evaluation will meet their needs.