Health Behavior Sample Paper
Evaluating the effectiveness of the program
Evaluating the effectiveness of the program is an important operation that will help in determining the intervention methods utilized to have any impact in addressing the social problem of drug use. The evaluation plan will measure how successful the intervention plan is and the accomplishments that the program has achieved. The evaluation will examine the benefits that the program has on the drug issue, its progress and overall outcomes. This will be important in determining if the intervention should be continued or if there are additional measures that need to be included in the intervention plan.
In evaluating the effectiveness of the programs, different evaluation tools will be used that include surveys, observation, focus groups and interviews. Surveys entail examining the behaviour of a group before and after the intervention has been implemented (Abadie & Cattaneo, 2018). In this case, the group shall be examined before the intervention program on young substance abusers is conducted and after the intervention has been implemented. The surveys shall be used to examine the behavioural change in terms of the prevalence of substance use among young adults, trends of abuse, and their attitudes towards substance abuse. This shall help in determining if the intervention program has had any impacts.
Observation method shall be used in examining alcohol consumption among adults. This measure is vital as it enables researchers to observe the participants in their natural settings hence increased accuracy (Guyadeen & Seasons, 2018). Alcohol consumption among the adults shall be examined for a period of six months to determine if the intervention program had any impact in reducing alcohol consumption in this group. This measure will observe the amount of time the adult spent in alcohol consumption, their alcohol consumption levels to note any change and listen to their talks concerning the topic of alcohol consumption. Observation shall also be used to examine the effectiveness of the emotional and social skills education on young people. Observation shall be done on how young people manage their emotions and how they apply their social skills in resisting substance use.
Focus groups will study the reactions of the young people and the impact the intervention plan had on both the young people and the adults involved in the program. A group of three to five individuals shall be used in this measure. Focus groups are an effective measure that helps in gathering data quickly ion the effectiveness of an intervention (Guyadeen & Seasons, 2018). The identified focus group shall be engaged in direct and open headed questions. Their response will help in determining how the group was impacted by the intervention program, thus determining how effective it was to the targeted audience.
Interviews shall also be carried out on a sample of the participants to determine how effective the program was. Participants shall be picked randomly to avoid bias. The identified participants shall be asked questions concerning what they think about the program. What they have learned from the program and how effective they found the program to be in behavioural change as well as improving their knowledge on the subject t matter. The advantage of using this measure is that it offers a chance for participants to explain better in their views regarding the issue (Abadie & Cattaneo, 2018). They also provide in-depth information as open headed questions are used.
Determining Program Effectiveness
The effectiveness of the program shall be assessed by determining the drug use prevalence rates among both the young people as well as the adults. A reduced drug and substance use rate shall indicate that the intervention program was a success. Additionally, this shall be determined through observing the response from both the young people and the adults regarding the program. This will include observing the behaviour change, the relationship between children and their parents shall also be observed to determine if the program was effective or not. An improved relation and connection indicate that the home visiting technique was effective
References
- Abadie, A., & Cattaneo, M. D. (2018). Econometric methods for program evaluation. Annual Review of Economics, 10, 465-503. doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080217-053402
- Guyadeen, D., & Seasons, M. (2018). Evaluation theory and practice: Comparing program evaluation and evaluation in planning. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 38(1), 98-110. doi.org/10.1177/0739456X16675930
Work plan
| Goals | Collect information about program activities Monitor progress of the intervention plan Ensure successful implementation of the intervention plan Analyze program outcomes |
| Objectives | Report and communicate results Make interventions where necessary Improve program effectiveness |
| Activities | Surveys Interviews Focus groups |
| Data measurement tools | Evidence-based programs Behavior management and modification Home visits Emotional and social skills education Classroom management |
| Timeframe | 6 Months |
| Responsible person | Team leader |
| Measures of success | Progress in reduced drug use |
