Evaluation Planning for Community Health Programs

Assignment Task

Instructions

This assessment requires you to apply your knowledge of evaluation by preparing a comprehensive evaluation plan. You are required to support the evaluation plan by justifying the evaluation approach adopted based on methodological, practical and contextual considerations.

To support the development of your evaluation plan, an evaluation planning template has been provided in the Resources Section. This template is based on the Victorian Department of Health Evaluation Planning Framework).

Your evaluation plan is to be based on one of the three Case Study programs provided in the Resources Section of this document.

Alternatively, you may wish to base your evaluation plan on a program or project of your own choosing. If you choose to prepare your evaluation plan for a program or project of your choosing, you must provide a one-page summary of the program or project as an appendix to your submission. This summary should include a brief program background, program goal, objectives, and strategies. The evaluation plan must include a plan for evaluating four objectives and four strategies. The strategies to be evaluated should be relevant to each of the chosen objectives.

• Using evidence, you must present a justification of the evaluation approach adopted that includes the following:
• Justification for the approach adopted. Outline why the evaluation approach adopted is suitable based on practical and contextual considerations (draw on the content in weeks 1-5 and the case study for details on the context).
• Discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation approach that demonstrates an understanding of methodological rigour.
• Identification of steps to be taken when implementing the evaluation plan to improve rigor within the chosen evaluation approach and program context.

Virtual Emergency Room

Overcrowding and long waiting times across Australian ED’s is a public health issue compounded by population growth, an aging population and increased prevalence of chronic diseases. The demands placed on ED’s can contribute to long wait times, scares resources being moved away from life‐threatening situations, long waiting times, adverse health outcomes, increased workload stress for ED staff, bed blockages and patient and staff dissatisfaction.

Background

The VED draws on a telehealth model to assess appropriately selected patients for the facilitation of either complete care or navigation into pathways for ongoing care. In partnership with a local Primary Health Network, Ambulance Service, and three hospitals, a State government is implementing a Virtual Emergency Department (VED) service, a public health service for addressing non-life-threatening emergencies was established. Investment in the VED is aimed at reducing ED wait times for non-life threating emergencies while increasing accessibility of ED services for the community. This free service was managed 103, 389 VED presentations in 2022/2023 financial year.

Objectives

The objectives of virtual emergency room are to:

1. Enhance to access emergency care from anywhere in the state, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

2. Reduce pressure on hospital emergency services.

3. Improve health outcomes for patience that require admission to an ED.

To achieve the objectives of the virtual emergency room the following strategies are being implemented:

1. Establish and maintain an accessible and user-friendly VED website with information presented in plain language that is accessible for a wide range of community members.

2. Provide all patient facing information and forms in languages other than English.

3. Streamline the patient journey for those requiring urgent care in an ED through warm handovers from VED to ED.

4. Establish partnerships and robust referral pathways with community health care providers to identify patients that can bypass ED and be fast tracked to suitable alternative pathways for ongoing investigation and management.

5. Establish and implement a protocol for scheduling patients presenting to the VED that are deemed as requiring examination via an ED to the quieter times within their local ED.

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