What to know
Monitoring and evaluation help public health programs stay on track and improve over time.
Background
CDC selected four National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program award recipients for a pilot project on bridging the health equity gap experienced by people with cancer in rural communities. This practice guide highlights four keys to success that health practitioners can use.
Strategy
To begin, define achievable goals and outcomes. Next, develop systematic data collection approaches that measure meaningful indicators of your progress. For example, pilot sites surveyed participants before and after Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) sessions to assess changes in knowledge about cancer survivorship. They also monitored patient navigations using a system to record patient encounters, barriers to care, resources shared, and follow-up action items.
South Carolina
"The evaluation [plan] kept us straight. Throughout the project, it helped us focus. We would get into meetings sometimes, and we would have these discussions, and [the evaluator] would remind us, well, this is what we're after, guys. These are our goals, or this is what Project ECHO says....I don't think this project would've been a success without the evaluation piece." [South Carolina]
Insights from pilot sites
- Identify indicators and data sources that can help you improve your program over time.
- Use activity logs to document the status of activities and barriers and facilitators to implementation. Remember to collect data from your partners when needed.
- Develop ECHO logs to record information on the number of sessions conducted, attendees, and session content. Work with Project ECHO partners to access records when needed.
- Survey rural providers before and after ECHO sessions to understand changes in providers' knowledge or capacity.
- Survey patient navigators to track completed activities and understand barriers and facilitators to high-quality patient navigation services.
- Use the navigation process to document encounters, barriers to care, resources used, and referrals made to resolve obstacles.