Evaluation of the Multifaceted and Complex Health Strategies: A Guide to Program Managers.

DEAR EDITOR,

The program managers from all the nations have planned and implemented various strategies to ensure provision of quality assured health care services to all.[1] However, as most of these health services are extremely complex and are built on the basis of thorough situation analysis, there is a crucial need to evaluate these strategies so that the policies can be subsequently modified.[2] In general, evaluation refers to the comprehensive process by which observed outcomes can be compared with the pre-decided targets.[34] In the modern era, based on the findings of a holistic evaluation process, decisions pertaining to the financial grant for a specific program is made.[45]

However, to enhance the credibility of an evaluation, the steps should be uniform, pre-defined, clear, and flexible enough to be customized based on local needs.[6] Ideally the evaluation process comprises of the following steps, namely identifying what has to be evaluated (structure or process or outcome evaluation); setting standards and criteria to assess accomplishment of pre-decided targets; devising methodology to perform evaluation; data collection; systematic analysis and interpretation of data; followed by implementation of corrective measures; and finally performing re-evaluation to assess the results of the remedial steps.[278]

Any evaluation process should explore six different facets of a health strategy, namely evaluation of relevance, adequacy, accessibility, efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency.[2910] In fact, the program evaluation component has to be designed even prior to the start of any health strategy.[5] In addition, the evaluation process should not be restricted to the health care providers, but should also cover the needs of individuals or communities, so that health indicators can be improved as a whole.[11]

In conclusion, evaluation of health strategy is a complex and an integral component of planning and successfully implementing a health scheme. Thus, program managers should realize its importance and give due attention to it in order to ensure improvement in the well-being of the masses.