Qualitative Evaluation Plan - Assignment Example

Diabetes Care in the Community Many different health program initiatives are started within individual communities; some attempt to raise awareness about a particular illness, while others work to assist those afflicted within the community in managing a particular illness. While a host of different initiatives can be spawned, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular initiative to determine if it is working; in order to do so, certain qualitative data must be obtained. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of diabetes care in a particular community, many different factors must be looked into and addressed.

The first factor that must be addressed is how much progress the patients who participated in the initiative have made. An analysis of the effectiveness of a community health worker intervention among African American and Latino adults with Type 2 diabetes was done in a controlled trial by Spencer, Rosaland, Kieffer, Sinco, Valerio, Palmisano & … Hessler which determined that “participants in the intervention group had a mean HbA1c value of 8.6% at baseline, which improved to a value of 7.

8% at six months, for an adjusted change of -0.8 percentage points” (2011). Through their particular study, they were able to see a noticeable change in the ability of those who participated in the initiative to be able to manage their diabetes more effectively. The next factor to consider in evaluating the effectiveness of a community outreach program for diabetes care in the community is the method used to collect data. Bielamowicz, Pope and Rice attempted a different form of community outreach program for those with Type 2 diabetes, which involved teaching the use of healthy cooking practices as related to controlling diabetes.

They utilized an online data collection method to track their progress. Data collection was done prior to the start of the initiative, after the third lesson, and after the final, fourth lesson (2012). By using this method of data gathering, they were able to gain a more accurate image and portrayal of what was working and what was not, as well as the amount of progress made at each step. This form of data collection also allowed them to have a concrete set of data as the starting point to go off of.

Another important factor to consider when evaluating the effectiveness of diabetes care in a particular community is the socioeconomic status of the community. Those in lower income communities are not as likely to have access to the same types of outreach programs that a traditional middle class neighborhood would. The Live Well, Be Well Study took a look at community based traditional lifestyle programs to lower diabetic factors in adults who had a lower socio-economic status, and found that they were able to not only retain 92% of those initially added to the study, but that they were able to show a marked improvement in their diabetes management.

When given access to the program, they buckled down more effectively than those in other studies, showing more effort placed into striving to manage and maintain control of the illness (2012). A final factor that should be taken into account is that of race; the Lawrence Latino Diabetes Prevention Project was designed to see the effectiveness of a diabetes outreach program targeted to those of Latino heritage only in a culturally based program. They found that the program targeted towards cultural aspects as opposed to illness aspects was particularly effective, and a year later, the program still had 94% of the initial participants in the program itself.

There are many different factors that can make a particular program a success or a failure, and these are just some of the aspects that it is important to address when evaluating the effectiveness of diabetes care in a community; how much progress is being made, how is data being collected, what is the socioeconomic status of the community and has the community had something targeted for their specific budget previously, and lastly, is the program geared specifically towards the culture of the community itself.

Works ReferencedBielamowicz, M., Pope, P., & Rice, C. (2013). Sustaining a Creative Community-Based Diabetes Education Program: Motivating Texans With Type 2 Diabetes to Do Well With Diabetes Control. Diabetes Educator, 39(1), 119-127. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.1177/0145721712470605Kanaya, A. M., Santoyo-Olsson, J., Gregorich, S., Grossman, M., Moore, T., & Stewart, A. L. (2012). The Live Well, Be Well Study: A Community-Based, Translational Lifestyle Program to Lower Diabetes Risk Factors in Ethnic Minority and Lower-Socioeconomic Status Adults.

American Journal Of Public Health, 102(8), 1551-1558. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300456Ockene, I. S., Tellez, T. L., Rosal, M. C., Reed, G. W., Mordes, J., Merriam, P. A., & . Ma, Y. (2012). Outcomes of a Latino Community-Based Intervention for the Prevention of Diabetes: The Lawrence Latino Diabetes Prevention Project. American Journal Of Public Health, 102(2), 336-342. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300357Spencer, M. S., Rosland, A., Kieffer, E. C., Sinco, B. R., Valerio, M.

, Palmisano, G., & . Heisler, M. (2011). Effectiveness of a Community Health Worker Intervention Among African American and Latino Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial. American Journal Of Public Health, 101(12), 2253-2260. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.2105/AJPH.2010.300106