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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Demia L. Sundra, MPH and Project DEFINE Collaborative Evaluation Writing Group. Prevention Research Centers Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, MS K-45, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-5506, dsundra@cdc.gov

The Prevention Research Centers (PRC) Program is a network of academic researchers, public health agencies, and community members that conducts applied prevention research, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The PRC Program developed a multi-pronged approach to evaluation, called Project DEFINE, using external contractors and a stakeholder-based advisory group consisting of academic, community, and health department partners. With the advisory group, the evaluation team balanced federal program decision-making and communications data needs with feasibility and importance issues for local PRCs. Based on the feedback received from decision-makers, program leadership, and the advisory group, the PRC Program focused the evaluation on accountability and program improvement at the national level. The overarching evaluation questions being assessed are: 1) What are the PRC program contributions to public health practice and policy through research and training?; 2) How are communities and partners being engaged across PRCs, and what influence does this have?; and 3) What are the organizational characteristics of the PRCs? The components of the evaluation approach will be described, including indicators for PRCs' inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes; in-depth studies to understand some program aspects qualitatively; and highlights of successes using case studies and stories. The indicators will describe aspects of prevention research that can be tracked over time, such as research and training projects occurring at the centers, PRCs' publications and presentations, community involvement in the research, and adoption of PRC-tested interventions by communities. Lastly, preliminary findings from pilot testing and initial document review will be presented.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe CDC’s Prevention Research Centers (PRC) Program overall approach to evaluation
• List five indicators that are being used to track the PRC program at a national level
• Discuss how an evaluation can be focused by engaging critical stakeholders and eliciting their data needs for decision-making and communications

Keywords: Evaluation, Community Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation