Health Program Evaluation 10-832-346
Spring 2014
Day and Time:
Location:
Instructor:
Credits:
Wednesday, 6:10-9:00 p.m
Scott Hall, Room 106, CAC
Olivia A. Wackowski, Ph.D., MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Education & Behavioral
Science, Rutgers School of Public Health
3 credits
Instructor Contact Information:
Office Address: 335 George Street, Suite 2100, CAC
Phone: (732) 235 – 9731
E-mail: wackowol@sph.rutgers.edu
Office hours by appointment only: Can schedule times to meet M-F (except
Thursday) between 10am-4pm. Email is best way to reach me to set up a time.
REQUIRED TEXT: Evaluation Fundamentals: Insights into Outcomes,
Effectiveness, and Quality Health Programs, 2nd Edition. Book is available at the
Rutgers/Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Ferran Mall and on Amazon.com.
Additional required readings as assigned are posted on the course SAKAI site.
Note: Weekly reading list may change during course of semester from that listed
in this version of syllabus. Changes will be communicated during class, through
email and/or through Sakai.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Discuss the purposes and importance of evaluation;
2. Define and discuss fundamental concepts of evaluation;
3. Identify several evaluation methods and research designs;
4. Review and critique evaluation research articles
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Student responsibilities include:
 Prompt attendance and completion of assigned readings
 Active participation in class sessions
 Communication in timely manner about any concerns/difficulties related to course
 Frequent and regular visits to the course SAKAI site at http://sakai.rutgers.edu.
Instructor responsibilities include:
 Respect for students as co-learners in course;
 Preparing and presenting lectures and course content in organized manner
 Availability by appointment for meetings with students
 Maintaining SAKAI course website to accurately reflect requirements of the course
SAKAI
Health Program Evaluation utilizes SAKAI to manage the course, its assignments,
requirements, announcements, and readings. All students are REQUIRED to log into
SAKAI in order to access these functions from the beginning of the course till the end.
Important updates, announcements and other useful information will be posted to the
SAKAI site on a regular basis. To access the SAKAI site, go to http://sakai.rutgers.edu.
Your Rutgers net i.d. and password are required to log onto the site.
PARTICIPATION & ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to arrive promptly and attend every class. Attendance is
especially important since our meetings are double periods, so missing one class
is really like missing two. Classes missed will result in points deducted from the
Attendance portion of your grade. Late arrivals will also affect the Attendance portion of
the grade. In the event of an emergency or illness requiring you to miss class, let me
know by email (wackowol@sph.rutgers.edu) prior to class or as soon as possible
afterwards. If you miss class, contact a classmate to arrange pick up of any handouts,
class notes, and other updates promptly. Assignments due on the date of a missed
class should be submitted through SAKAI on the date due.
Each student is also encouraged to participate fully in all class discussions, especially
in discussions related to the readings, class activities and with guest speakers. A lack of
class participation will negatively impact your grade. Clearly if you do not attend class,
you will also miss opportunities to participate.
ASSIGNMENTS
For all assignments, you should bring a hard copy of the assignment to class on the day
it is due AND also submit an electronic version of the assignment using the SAKAI
Assignment feature no later than 6:00 p.m. on the date due, unless otherwise noted.
All assignments must be in a Word format. Assignments submitted in a non-compatible
format will be considered late. Assignments submitted late will lose points for each day
late.
The ability to communicate properly and effectively is an important expectation of
college graduates and of public health professionals. As such, it is very important that
all written work be spell-checked and edited for correct grammar and syntax. Points will
be deducted for work submitted with numerous typos, incomplete sentences and poor
writing.
There are three required assignments for the course.
1. HUMAN SUBJECTS CERTIFICATION
You will be required to complete the on-line RU Human Subjects Certification. It is
available at http://orsp.rutgers.edu/. Under Human Subjects Research you will select
Human Subject certification. Once completed, you will be issued a letter. This letter will
be due for class as proof of completion by February 12, 2014. You may submit the
letter ahead of time if you like.
2. Problem Set
Utilizing information from assigned readings and from lecture notes, you will be asked to
answer a number of short answer questions. Answers should be complete for full credit.
You might think of this as a sort of take-home open-book quiz, and as something that
may help you study for your midterm. Questions will be distributed by the second week
of class. You should submit your completed Assignment through Sakai by Friday,
March 3rd at 9am. This will give me a chance to review and grade your material, and
(hopefully) get it back to you during class, the next day (Wed, March 5th) in time for you
to have it back before your midterm. For this assignment then, you do not also need to
turn in a hard copy.
3. LITERATURE REVIEW
You will conduct a literature review on evaluation interventions on one (and only one) of
the following topics in the college environment:
 Smoking cessation programs
 Reducing dangerous drinking
 Reducing sexually transmitted infections
 Suicide prevention
You will find a minimum of four articles from peer reviewed journals written between
2005 – present related to the effectiveness of interventions in the area you chose. The
literature review will include the following:
 A brief overview of each article including the research methods utilized and their
research results (think of the who, what, where, when and how)
 The strengths and weaknesses of the research
 How the articles/research are related to one another
 A Reference List following APA style
The paper should be between 5-7 pages long. Additional details will be provided in
class. The literature review is due on March 26, 2014.
EXAMS
There are two exams in Health Program Evaluation, a midterm and final exam, which
will cover content from assigned readings and class lectures.
 MIDTERM EXAM: will take place on March 12, 2013
 FINAL EXAM: will take place on May 14, 2014.
GRADING
Everyone has the opportunity to build his/her grade. Each assignment has a designated
number of points. The number of points awarded for each assignment depends upon
whether or not the requirements of the assignment are met. Spelling, grammar and
syntax are important and points will be deducted for poorly written papers.
POINT BREAKDOWN:
Attendance & Participation
Human Subjects Certification
Literature Review
Problem Set
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Total
60 = 15%
20 = 5%
80 = 20%
40 = 10%
100 = 25%
100 = 25%
400 points
GRADING PHILOSOPHY & OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Your grades are assigned following the Grading Philosophy of the Edward J.
Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy.
A Excellent, shows initiative, synthesizes and integrates assigned material with
external sources and own thinking; 92-100%
B+ Very good work, innovative thinking or excellent integration of work of others,
88-91%
B Exceeds minimum requirements, either shows own thinking or synthesizes and
integrates assigned material with external sources; 81 - 87%
C+ Good understanding of assigned material, but no effort to integrate own thinking or
that of others; 78 - 80%
C Average work that meets the minimum requirements but does not show consistent
understanding of material, poor quality; 70-77%
D Meets minimum requirements but does not show understanding of material, poor
quality; 60-69%
F Unacceptable, does not meet minimum requirements; 0-59%
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
 Students requiring accommodation due to a disability (learning, physical, emotional)
must present proper documentation at the beginning of the semester.
 Cell-phones, pagers, PDAs, etc. must be turned off or set to vibrate during class.
Texting, checking e-mail, checking messages, and answering the phone while in
class will result in points deducted from the Participation grade and will not be
tolerated.
 Laptops are permitted to take notes. If it is discovered that laptops are being used
inappropriately (Face Book, e-mail, homework for other classes, etc.), the use of the
laptop will be prohibited for the rest of the semester.
 Pay attention to the grading philosophy above. It is adhered to strictly.
Academic Misconduct: A Bloustein School Perspective
Academic misconduct includes cheating, plagiarism, failure to cite sources, fabrication
and falsification, stealing ideas, and deliberate slanting of research designs to achieve a
pre-conceived result. We talk about misconduct and ethical behavior in classes and
expectations are set forth in student handbooks and catalogues. For example, it is
presented on pages 545-547 in the New Brunswick Undergraduate Catalogue for the
years 2003 through 2005 and on pages 16-18 of the Edward J. Bloustein catalogue for
the years 2003 through 2005. We are not repeating that material here. Note, however,
that penalties for misconduct can range from failing an assignment/exam or dismissal
from the university.
The Bloustein School is appending this memorandum to your course syllabus because
we recently have detected obvious cases of plagiarism. We have found far fewer cases
of other forms of academic misconduct, but we find several every year. It is imperative
that you understand that unethical academic conduct is intolerable, and it is completely
preventable.
Academic misconduct almost always happens for two reasons. One is ignorance of
academic rules and practices. For example, in virtually every recent plagiarism case in
the School, material has been taken from an Internet site and placed in text without
appropriate note or attribution. You must learn the proper rules for attribution. If you are
not sure, ask your instructor! If you do not know the rules that govern the use of data
sets, attribution, analysis and reporting of these sets, the faculty will help you. There is
no such thing as a stupid question regarding this subject.
Pressure is the second common reason for academic misconduct. Students, faculty,
and every one of us are subject to deadline, financial, self-worth, peer, and other
pressures. If you are potentially allowing pressure to drive you to misconduct, please
step back and resist that urge. You can cope with pressure in a positive way by
reaching out to friends, counselors, and faculty members. Within the Bloustein School
community, you will find understanding people and positive direction.
The Bloustein School plays an important role in the planning and public policy agenda.
Our work and our students must be above reproach.
HEALTH PROGRAM EVALUATION SPRING 2013
COURSE SYLLABUS
Required readings are to be completed for the class date listed. Readings in addition to
those listed may be assigned. Evaluation Fundamentals = EF; TBA = To Be Announced
Week/Date
Week 1
January 22
Topic
Welcome,
course overview, expectations;
Introduction to Evaluation,
continued
Week 3
February 5
Class Activity: Jobs review
Evaluation Questions &
Standards;
Review of Goals/Objectives;
Intro to Logic Models
Class Activity: Objectives & Model
Development practice
1) Grembowski – Ch. 3
Reading
2) McLaughlin & Jordan –
Logic Models
Optional Reading :
EF Chapter 2
1) Linnan & Steckler –
Process evaluation
2) Hall – process eval
research article
Reading
Reading
Class Activity – Case study
discussions
1) EF Chapter 3;
2) Rossi Chapter 8;
3) McKenzie – Internal/Ext.
Validity
Sampling methods;
1) EF Chapter 4;
Guest Speaker – Ms. Amanda
Medina Forrester, Cancer Institute
of New Jersey
2) Guidelines for Statistical
Reporting in Articles for
Medical Journals
Reading
Problem Set
(due Mon.,
March 3rd,
by 9am)
Process Evaluations
Class Activity – Research article
review and discussion
Week 7
March 5
Reading
Reading
Class Activity – Research article
review and discussion
Week 6
February 26
1) EF Chapter 1;
2) Rossi – Chapter 2, p3352
1) EF Ch 5 – pp.132-139;
2) How to Read a Research
Article
3) Literature Reviews-UNC
Guide
4) Intro to APA Style Manual;
5) Literature Review – Ex 1
6) Literature Review – Ex 1
Peer Review Journals & Literature
Reviews: overview
Literature Review Assignment
Discussion
Week 5
February 19
1) McKenzie – Ch. 13;
(review from HPD class)
Assignment
Reading
Evaluation Overview
Week 2
January 29
Week 4
February 12
Reading
Designing Program Evaluations
Human
Subjects
Certification
due
Literature
Review
Assignment
articles due
Week 8
March 12
Week 9
March 19
Week 10
March 26
MID TERM EXAM
Study!
Happy Spring Break!
No Class
Enjoy!
Data Collection Sources &
Measures
1) EF Chapters 5 & 6;
Reading
Literature
Review due
1) EF Chapters 5 & 6,
contd.;
2) Alreck - Composing
Survey Questions;
Reading
1) EF Chapter 7;
Reading
Review of midterm
Week 11
April 2
Week 12
April 9
Week 13
April 16
Class Activity: Peer review of
Assignments
Data Collection Sources &
Measures, continued…
Class Activity – Case study
discussions
Managing Evaluation Data;
Guest Speaker:
Ms. Michelle Bover, MPH
Center for Tobacco Surveillance &
Evaluation Research, UMDNJ
School of Public Health
Analyzing Evaluation Data
Guest Speaker –
Dr. Rick Boyd, EdD, MSPH,
CHES, Professor, UMDNJ School
of Public Health
Class Activity: Hypothesis testing
2) Other readings – TBA
1) EF Chapter 8;
2) How to Read a Paper:
Statistics for the NonStatistician;
3) Confidence Intervals
Assess both Clinical &
Statistical Significance
Reading
Week 14
April 23
Data Presentation and Evaluation
Reports
1) EF Chapter 9;
2) Rossi – Ch. 12, pp377381;
Reading
Week 15
April 30
Review & Catch up, as needed;
Readings - TBA
Reading
Guest Speaker –
Ms. Erin Bunger, MPH,
Consultant, Shaping NJ
Week 16
May 7
Week 17
May 14
Reading Day – no class
FINAL EXAM