Assessing local capacity for health intervention

Moya L. Alfonso, Jen Nickelson, David L. Hogeboom, Jennifer French, Carol A. Bryant, Robert J. McDermott and Julie A. Baldwin

Evaluation and Program Planning, 2008, vol. 31, issue 2, 145-159

Abstract: Because of their location within the practice realm, participatory, community-based public health coalitions offer many lessons about implementing and sustaining local interventions. This paper presents a case study of capacity assessment at the local level. Capacity evaluation methods are presented, with emphasis on the theoretical framework used to guide the evaluation. The capacity evaluation framework presented herein was theoretically based and designed to generate practical information to facilitate the adoption of a locally tailored youth obesity prevention program, VERB(TM) Summer Scorecard (VSS). Using multiple methods, four aspects of community capacity were assessed, including community, knowledge and skills, resources, and power. Within each category, factors that facilitated or impeded program implementation were distinguished. The evaluation protocol was designed to generate information increasing community capacity to sustain a community-based obesity prevention program. Capacity tables were used as a program-planning tool and as a system for sharing implementation and sustainability requirements with potential adopters. This case study also explores how to use capacity assessment results to empower coalitions to serve as catalysts for development of local programs in other communities.

Date: 2008
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149-7189(08)00004-9
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:epplan:v:31:y:2008:i:2:p:145-159

Access Statistics for this article

Evaluation and Program Planning is currently edited by Jonathan A. Morell

More articles in Evaluation and Program Planning from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().