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Evaluation Methodologies (evaluation + methodology)
Selected AbstractsDetermining if disease management saves money: an introduction to meta-analysisJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 3 2007Ariel Linden DrPH MS Abstract Disease management (DM) programmes have long been promoted as a major medical cost-saving mechanism, even though the scant research that exists on the topic has provided conflicting results. In a 2004 literature review, the Congressional Budget Office stated that ,there is insufficient evidence to conclude that disease management programs can generally reduce the overall cost of health care services'. To address this question more accurately, a meta-analysis was warranted. Meta-analysis is the quantitative technique used to pool the results of many studies on the same topic and summarize them statistically. This method is also quite suitable for individual DM firms to assess whether their programmes are effective at the aggregate level. This paper describes the elements of a rigorous meta-analytic process and discusses potential biases. A hypothetical DM organization is then evaluated with a specific emphasis on medical cost-savings, simulating a case in which different populations are served, evaluation methodologies are employed, and diseases are managed. [source] Consequences of No Child Left Behind on evaluation purpose, design, and impactNEW DIRECTIONS FOR EVALUATION, Issue 117 2008Linda Mabry As an outgrowth of No Child Left Behind's narrow definition of scientifically based research, the priority given to certain quantitative evaluation designs has sparked debate among those in the evaluation community. Federal mandates for particular evaluation methodologies run counter to evaluation practice and to the direction of most evaluation theorists, who advocate for flexibility and adaptability in methods choices. The impact of this mandate for randomized clinical trials as the sine qua non of evaluation methods is not yet discernible, but the potential impact is explored through an analogous example involving the World Bank. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Successes and challenges in triangulating methodologies in evaluations of exemplary urban schoolsNEW DIRECTIONS FOR EVALUATION, Issue 101 2004Donna Penn Towns This chapter illustrates how triangulating evaluation methodologies allow for stakeholder involvement and revealed contexts that a narrower approach might fail to illuminate. [source] Towards an integrated environmental assessment for wetland and catchment managementTHE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003R Kerry Turner This paper develops a decision support system for evaluation of wetland ecosystem management strategy and examines its, so far partial, application in a case study of an important complex coastal wetland known as the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, in the east of England, UK. Most managed ecosystems are complex and often poorly understood hierarchically organized systems. Capturing the range of relevant impacts on natural and human systems under different management options will be a formidable challenge. Biodiversity has a hierarchical structure which ranges from the ecosystem and landscape level, through the community level and down to the population and genetic level. There is a need to develop methodologies for the practicable detection of ecosystem change, as well as the evaluation of different ecological functions. What is also required is a set of indicators (environmental, social and economic) which facilitate the detection of change in ecosystems suffering stress and shock and highlight possible drivers of the change process. A hierarchical classification of ecological indicators of sustainability would need to take into account existing interactions between different organization levels, from species to ecosystems. Effects of environmental stress are expressed in different ways at different levels of biological organization and effects at one level can be expected to impact other levels, often in unpredictable ways. The management strategy, evaluation methodologies and indicators adopted should also assess on sustainability grounds whether any given management option is supporting, or reducing, the diversity of functions which are providing stakeholders with the welfare benefits they require. [source] The Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer Programme on Consumption in Colombia,FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2006Orazio Attanasio Abstract This paper studies the impact of a conditional cash transfer programme in Colombia on the total consumption of very poor households and on its components. Our evaluation methodology involves comparing household expenditures in areas in which the programme was not implemented (control) and those in which it was (treated). We use a quasi-experimental approach, as the Familias en Acción programme was not randomly assigned across localities, for political reasons. We condition on a large range of household- and municipality-level characteristics, and also control for pre-programme differences in the outcomes of interest using a differences-indifferences methodology. We find that the programme has been effective at greatly increasing total consumption and its main component, food consumption, in both rural and urban areas. The programme has also contributed to improvements in the quality of food consumed, in particular of items rich in proteins (milk, meat and eggs) and of cereals. Furthermore, the programme has created redistributive effects in favour of children through expenditure on education and children's clothing, while it has not significantly affected consumption of adult goods such as alcohol and tobacco or adults'clothing. [source] Methodology for the design and evaluation of distillation systems: Exergy analysis, economic features and GHG emissionsAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 7 2010Hajnalka Kencse Abstract This work presents a process design methodology that evaluates the distillation systems based on exergetic, economic, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission aspects. The aim of the methodology is to determine how these three features should be applied in process design to obtain information about the accuracy of the design alternatives. The methodology is tested and demonstrated on three different energy-integrated distillation systems: the direct sequence with backward heat-integration (DQB), fully thermally coupled distillation column (FTCDC), and sloppy distillation system with forward heat-integration (SQF). The average relative emission saving is the highest for the DQB scheme and this sequence shows the most flexible range of use. The case studies prove the accuracy of our evaluation methodology. On the other hand, it highlights and demonstrates that the exergy analysis can predict the results of the economic study and the environmental evaluation to make the decisions, associated with process design, much simpler. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010 [source] Creating the conditions for growth: a collaborative practice development programme for clinical nurse leadersJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2010CHRISTINE A. BOOMER RGN, PG Cert. boomer c.a.& mccormack b. (2010) Journal of Nursing Management 18, 633,644 Creating the conditions for growth: a collaborative practice development programme for clinical nurse leaders Aim, To evaluate a 3-year practice development (PD) programme for clinical nurse leaders. Background, The development of effective leaders is a key objective to progress the modernization agenda. This programme aimed to develop the participants alongside development of the culture and context of care. Methods, Programme evaluation methodology to determine the ,worth' of the programme, inform the experience of the participation, effect on workplace cultures and determine effectiveness of the process used. Results, Created the conditions for growth under two broad themes: process outcomes demonstrating growth as leaders contributing to cultural shifts; and general outcomes demonstrating practice changes. Conclusions, Developing communities of reflective leaders are required to meet demands within contemporary healthcare. PD provides a model to develop leaders to achieve sustainable changes and transform practice. Implications for nursing management, Active collaboration and participation of managers is crucial in the facilitation of and sustainability of cultural change. Approaches adopted to develop and sustain the transformation of practice need to focus on developing the skills and attributes of leaders and managers as facilitators. [source] Quantifying organ donation rates by donation service areaAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 4p2 2005Akinlolu O. Ojo Previous measures of OPO performance based on population counts have been deemed inadequate, and the need for new methods has been widely accepted. This article explains recent developments in OPO performance evaluation methodology, including those developed by the SRTR. As a replacement for the previously established measure of OPO performance , donors per million population , using eligible deaths as a national metric has yielded promising results for understanding variations in donation rates among the donation service areas assigned to each OPO. A major improvement uses "notifiable deaths" as a denominator describing a standardized maximal pool of potential donors. Notifiable deaths are defined as in-hospital deaths among ages 70 years and under, excluding certain diagnosis codes related to infections, cancers, etc. A most proximal denominator for determining donation rates is "eligible deaths," which includes only those deaths meeting the criteria for organ donation upon initial assessment. Neither measure is based on the population of a geographic unit, but on restricted upper limits of deaths that could be potential donors in any one locale (e.g., hospital or OPO). The inherent strengths and weaknesses of metrics such as donors per eligible deaths, donors per notifiable deaths, and number of organs per donor are discussed in detail. [source] | ||||||||||