Evaluating a community health program

[Extract] Nursing practice is cyclic as well as dynamic, and for community-focused activities to be timely and relevant, the community health program plan must be routinely evaluated to ensure its ongoing effectiveness. Collecting or generating evaluation data allows the planning group to measure the progress that is being made towards achieving the community health program's aims and goals, and to revise planned activities accordingly. But as well as being important to nursing practice, evaluation also has a crucial role in the functioning of health agencies. Staffing and funding are frequently based on evaluation findings, and existing programs may be subject to closure unless evaluation evidence can be produced that shows the program's positive impact on the health status of the community. In recent years there has been a growing focus on program evaluation, but unfortunately, evaluation is sometimes practised separately from program planning. It may even be tacked on to the end of a program just to satisfy the requirements of funding sources or agency administration procedures. The shortcomings of such an approach are evident. Effective community nursing requires an integrative approach to evaluation