Evaluation Measures

Rural services integration programs have found that having a common set of performance measures can help to keep the project team working towards the same goals. Baseline and interval measures can be used to monitor the effectiveness of program activities and document changes in the target population. The measures used to evaluate services integration programs vary depending on the services integration model and the goal of the evaluation. For example:

• Process Measures: Focus on measuring how services are provided. Examples include:
  • Number of staff trained
  • Number of educational sessions held
  • Number of partnerships the program has formed with other stakeholder organizations
  • Number of meetings held with partners to assess progress and make changes
  • Number of staff trained in program practices
  • Number of patients enrolled in and/or served by the program
  • Number of referrals to other services.
• Outcome Measures: Focus on measuring the results or overall achievements of the program. Examples include:
  • Change in availability of health and social services in the community, for example locations of a mobile clinic, or fitness programs in schools.
  • Change in health outcomes over time, for example alcohol intake, infant birthweight, or A1C level.
  • Change in awareness of health topics, for example obesity, heart disease, or prenatal healthcare.
  • Change in policies and legislation related to health, for example school policy change in regards to nutrition, physical education, and WSCC health programs.
  • Return on investment (ROI) in program examining social and medical cost savings.

For additional information, see Evaluation Measures in the Rural Community Health Toolkit.

Resources to Learn More

Evaluating Integrated Health Care: a Model for Measurement
Document
Describes a model of evaluation to measure the degree to which healthcare systems are functionally integrated.
Author(s): Ahgren, B. & Axelsson, R.
Citation: International Journal of Integrated Care
Date: 2005

Program Development & Evaluation
Website
Contains links to toolkits about evaluation planning and data collection for program review, as well as resources to help implement plans.
Organization(s): University of Wisconsin-Extension

Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement
Document
This book chapter provides an introduction to important concepts and characteristics of program evaluation and describes the importance of performance measurement in future decision making.
Author(s): McDavid, J., Huse, I., & Hawthorn, L.
Organization(s): University of Victoria, Canada
Date: 2013