View the Vulnerable Populations information on the Topic SelectionLinks to an external site. Campus page to ensure your understanding of populations described as potentially “vulnerable” to research risks so as not to violate ethical or legal guidelines.
Using your previous coursework and the sample information bulleted below, plan either a formative, process, or outcome program evaluation. The sample provides sufficient information for you to create ideas on how to design any of the three types of evaluation.
- Black women are three times more likely than White women to die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth (CDC, 2022). Black mothers and infants are more likely to experience adverse outcomes in pregnancy, regardless of income or socioeconomic status (Kennedy-Moulton et al., 2022). In addition to high mortality rates, Black women and infants’ higher adverse outcomes include:
- More pregnancy-related health problems like hypertension and gestational diabetes.
- More birth-related complications such as eclampsia, sepsis, and pulmonary embolisms.
- More premature births and low birth weight for infants.
- Doulas help mothers navigate problems with hospitals and medical personnel. They advocate for mothers, and such guidance helps women reduce the need for medical interventions and avoid severe complications associated with those interventions.
- Healthy Mamas is a program aimed at improving Black women’s maternal and birth outcomes through training Black doulas to aid Black women and their infants before, during, and after birth. Their goal is to increase access to social, emotional, and educational support for expectant mothers from professionally trained Black doulas. Their eventual goal is to see reduced rates of adverse maternal and infant health concerns and mortality through improved prenatal and perinatal (before birth and after birth) care for Black mothers and infants.
- Healthy Mamas enhances typical doula training with supplemented curricula to support Black women by considering cultural needs and traditions, family dynamics, institutional and systemic racism, lack of trust in the healthcare system, and recognizing and combating bias against their pregnant clients. This training program lasts one month and includes interactive individual and group sessions led by certified experts in the field. Upon graduation and in practice, the new doulas keep logs of all contact with their client, their families, doctors and other healthcare personnel, health insurers, etc.
- By collaborating with the organization’s stakeholders, you are co-planning a type of program evaluation. Stakeholders include the program administrators and local community health collective of healthcare providers and advocates. Funding for the program comes from a variety of public and private sources.
- There are three types of issues to consider as you plan an evaluation of Healthy Mamas:
- Problem 1: Is there an aspect of the program that could be adapted or expanded to other groups or comparable issues, such as for Latina mothers or for other healthcare issues?
- Problem 2: As this program is relatively new, are there relevant and current issues that should be assessed?
- Problem 3: Is the program effective at achieving its goals (either short-term or long-term)?
Instructions
Develop ideas to plan a formative, process, or outcome program evaluation and complete the following:
- Apply the principles of program evaluation to how the need for the evaluation will align with the type of program evaluation, the program question, and the data.
- What is the need for the program?
- What is the type of your program evaluation?
- What is the goal of your program evaluation?
- What is your program question?
- Develop the sources of qualitative and quantitative data that could be used to answer the program question.
- What qualitative data (e.g., interview transcripts, field notes, photographs, program documents) and/or quantitative data (e.g., surveys, pre-existing program data) could you use to answer the program question?
- Why will these participants’ data (qualitative or quantitative) be appropriate?
- Explain what results would be needed to answer the program questions and address the goal of the program.
- Apply knowledge of data collection in how the researcher and stakeholders would ethically and successfully work together to answer the program question.
- How may you, as the researcher, work with stakeholders to develop and implement the evaluation?
- Identify potential legal and ethical issues that may arise working with stakeholders and participants.
- Explain possible strategies to ensure that accurate data will be obtained.
- If proposing to use surveys or other means of quantitative data, include strategies you may use to enhance reliability and validity.
- If proposing to use interviews or other means of qualitative data, include strategies you may use to enhance credibility and dependability.
Using the Human Services Reflection Journal: Developing a Program Evaluation Activity, complete the following:
- Discuss pitfalls happening in a realistic program evaluation for an existing human services organization.
- Reflect on personal capstone project.
- What type of program and program evaluation are you considering and about what topic?
- Note: After writing your response, print a PDF and submit it with the rest of your assignment.
- What type of program and program evaluation are you considering and about what topic?
Additional Requirements
Your assignment should also meet the following requirements:
- Written Communication:
- Convey purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
- Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
- Length: 5–6 typed, double-spaced pages.
- In addition, include your printed PDF from the Human Services Reflection Journal activity.
- Format: Use current APA style and format for references, in-text citations, and headings as appropriate. Visit Evidence and APALinks to an external site. for help with APA as needed.
- Font and Font Size: Times New Roman, 12 points.
Review the Developing a Program Evaluation rubric before submission and include a PDF from your Human Services Reflection Journal activity.
ePortfolio
You may choose to save your assignment to your ePortfolioLinks to an external site. as you complete iterations of your work.
References
- CDC. (2023). Working together to reduce Black maternal mortality. https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html.
- Kennedy-Moulton, K., Miller, S., Persson, P., Rossin-Slater, M., Wherry, L. R., & Aldana, G. (2022). Maternal and infant health inequality: New evidence from linked administrative data. Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
- Competency 2: Explain how laws, regulations, and ethical implications must be considered when conducting research.
- Explain possible strategies to ensure that accurate data will be obtained.
- Competency 3: Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative methodologies and when to use each one in human services settings.
- Apply knowledge of data collection in how the researcher and stakeholders would ethically and successfully work together to answer the program question.
- Discuss pitfalls happening in a realistic program evaluation for an existing human services organization.
- Competency 4: Choose appropriate methodologies to investigate organizational and community concerns.
- Apply the principles of program evaluation to how the need for the evaluation will align with the type of program evaluation, the program question, and the data.
- Develop the sources of qualitative and quantitative data that could be used to answer the program question.
- Reflect on personal capstone project.
- Competency 5: Convey clear meaning through appropriate word choice and usage.
- Convey purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
- Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.