Center for Gulf Coast Environmental Health Research, Leadership and Strategic Initiatives, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (Ms Sherman and Drs Covert and Lichtveld); and Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Drs Covert and Lichtveld).
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2022;28(5):E734-E742. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001528. Epub 2022 Apr 21.
It is critical to evaluate community health worker (CHW) programs to maximize effectiveness. However, there is little consensus, and structure, for how to evaluate such programs.
The purpose of this study was to develop a flexible framework for evaluating components of CHW programs in community and clinical settings.
Semistructured interviews were conducted with CHWs and their supervisors to determine evaluation categories for the framework. A survey was then administered to pilot the framework at federally qualified health centers and community-based organizations with existing CHW programs.
Eighteen federally qualified health centers and community-based organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
Participants consisted of 23 CHWs and 19 CHW supervisors.
Interview participants directly informed the development of an evaluation framework for CHW programs. The framework consists of 7 evaluation categories: client relations, intraorganizational relations, interorganizational relations, capacity development, program effectiveness, cost-efficiency, and sustainability. Survey respondents specified best practices for program implementation for each evaluation category. Recommendations for CHW program evaluation include tailoring evaluation efforts and data collection methods to program context, using mixed-methods approaches for collecting evaluation data, and streamlining evaluation efforts with an organization's existing evaluation systems.
The evaluation framework is a flexible and practical model for collecting information needed for monitoring and evaluating CHW programs. By relying on practitioners' perspectives, this study contributes to an evidence base for implementing and evaluating CHW programs.
评估社区卫生工作者（CHW）计划对于实现最大效果至关重要。然而，对于如何评估此类计划，目前尚未达成共识，也缺乏结构。
本研究旨在为社区和临床环境中 CHW 计划的各个组成部分制定一个灵活的评估框架。
对 CHW 和他们的主管进行半结构化访谈，以确定框架的评估类别。然后在有现有 CHW 计划的联邦合格健康中心和社区组织中进行了一项调查，以试点该框架。
路易斯安那州、密西西比州、阿拉巴马州和佛罗里达州的 18 个联邦合格健康中心和社区组织。
参与者包括 23 名 CHW 和 19 名 CHW 主管。
访谈参与者直接为 CHW 计划的评估框架的制定提供了信息。该框架由 7 个评估类别组成：客户关系、组织内关系、组织间关系、能力发展、计划效果、成本效益和可持续性。调查受访者为每个评估类别指定了最佳的方案实施实践。CHW 计划评估的建议包括根据方案背景调整评估工作和数据收集方法、使用混合方法收集评估数据，以及利用组织现有的评估系统简化评估工作。
该评估框架是一种灵活且实用的模型，可用于收集监测和评估 CHW 计划所需的信息。通过依赖从业者的观点，本研究为实施和评估 CHW 计划提供了证据基础。
