Presenting a Model for the Design of an Empirically Driven Implementation Evaluation of a School- Based Health Education Program

DOI: 10.5176/2251-1814_EeL17.24

Authors: Rachel Williams, Gavin TL Brown, Gavin TL Brown

Abstract:

Comprehensive evaluations of health promotion programs are infrequent in the public schooling context, particularly in New Zealand (NZ). Most evaluations measure program impact but few, if any, concurrently explore program delivery or implementation. This study addresses this gap by presenting the results of a cross-sectional implementation evaluation of a social health promotion program, Kiwi Can, operating in low-decile primary schools in NZ. Anonymous questionnaire data was collected from 319 Year 3-6 students in eight schools. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling indicated that the program was delivered to a high standard, with fidelity, and adherence to participant needs across all participating schools. The study provides a model for the design of effective, empirically driven implementation evaluations of school-based programs.

Keywords: implementation evaluation; evaluation methodology; social health promotion programs; external provider; case study