Program Evaluation Brief
MANUSCRIPT CHECKLIST
General
The title accurately reflects the content of the manuscript.
The manuscript adds substantially to what is already known about the topic.
The article is of interest to PCD readers.
The article fits the mission of the journal to address the interface between applied evaluation and public health practice in chronic disease prevention.
The manuscript is clearly and concisely written and is free of jargon.
Each section of the manuscript — Introduction, Purpose and Objectives, Intervention Approach, Evaluation Methods, Results, and Implications for Public Health — includes the appropriate information. These sections are clearly delineated.
The citations are up to date and relevant.
All statements requiring citations have citations.
The Acknowledgments identify funding for the study.
The article has no more than 2,000 words and 15 references.
Abstract
The text has no more than 250 words.
The abstract accurately reflects the content of the manuscript.
The abstract is unstructured.
It has no more than 6 sentences, each corresponding to the subheadings in the main text of the manuscript: Introduction, Purpose and Objectives, Intervention Approach, Evaluation Methods, Results, and Implications for Public Health.
Introduction
The public health area(s) of interest is described.
Purpose and rationale for the evaluation approach is justified by the literature and the circumstances under which implementation and evaluation activities occurred.
Project staff and partnerships responsible for conceptualizing, implementing, and evaluating efforts are described.
When and how long reported activities were implemented and evaluated are reported.
When data collection was initiated and completed are reported.
A literature review is provided to identify gaps in knowledge about the evaluation topic and show how the evaluation will add substantially to what is already known.
The authors appear to know their subject.
Definitions of terms specific to the context of the manuscript are provided.
Purpose and Objectives
Factors considered in developing the intervention are reported.
Components of the intervention are adequately described.
Specific objectives or evaluation questions are reported.
Details on how partners and interested parties were engaged to develop the program’s purpose and objectives are reported.
Characteristics of the setting and population are described.
Intervention Approach
An intervention approach grounded in the literature and the intervention setting is described.
Assumptions underlying how activities, evaluation approach, and evaluation methods are aligned are presented.
Outcomes or measurements are adequately described.
Outcomes (eg, indicators, measures, benchmarks) unfamiliar to a general public health readership are explained.
If validation of new and innovative measures is conducted as part of the study, they are described.
Intervention approach is appropriately linked to results (eg, outcomes, measures, indicators) being reported.
Figures or diagrams describing the intervention logically depict the interrelationship between key components being discussed.
Evaluation Methods
The type of evaluation method (eg, qualitative, quantitative, or mixed) used and the rationale for its selection are described.
An appropriate evaluation approach (eg, qualitative, quantitative, or mixed) was used to achieve the study objectives.
The dates of the study are provided.
For evaluations that report use of a survey, the survey questions are provided.
The setting from which the participants are drawn (eg, general community, school, clinic, hospital, worksite) is described, including key sociodemographic features.
For participants in the evaluation, detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are provided.
Participants are appropriate to the evaluation question.
Recruitment of participants in the evaluation and sampling procedures are described.
If the manuscript describes an evaluation involving human subjects, it includes a statement that the research was approved by an appropriate institutional review board.
The participation rate is provided and defined in terms of a numerator and denominator.
The participation rate is satisfactory.
The pre-evaluation (pre-study) calculation of required sample size is reported.
A consistent cohort of study participants, for whom all data (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed) are available, is used.
If survey is used, the authors indicate whether the survey instrument has been shown to have validity.
The statistical or qualitative methods are appropriately selected.
The statistical or qualitative methods are explained in plain English.
The software (statistical or qualitative) is identified.
Enough information is provided to enable an informed reader to replicate the evaluation.
The Evaluation Methods section includes only a description of the methods; it does not describe results.
Results
The main findings of the evaluation are provided.
The results are specific and relevant to objectives and evaluation questions.
For surveys, the response rate is provided.
Measures of data distribution or precision (eg, SD, 95% CI, SE) are given, if appropriate.
Implications or weaknesses of the study and the rationale for the statistical procedures used are not discussed in this section.
Implications for Public Health
A lengthy reiteration of the Results section is avoided.
Speculation and overgeneralization are avoided.
Positive and negative findings of equal scientific merit are emphasized equally.
The conclusions drawn from the statistical or qualitative analyses are justified.
Findings from the evaluation are compared with findings of similar published evaluation efforts.
Limitations of the evaluation are discussed.
Implications for public health are discussed.
Tables and Figures
There are no more than 2 figures or 2 tables or 1 of each.
The tables and figures are well constructed, easy to comprehend, and visually appealing.
Information in the tables or figures is not duplicated in the text or in other tables or figures.
Information in the tables or figures is consistent with information in the text.
Numbers add up correctly.
The tables and figures are able to stand independently; they do not require explanation from the text.
Illustrations in Other Media
Text transcriptions of video and audio files are provided.
Approval obtained to reproduce newspaper clippings or other print or internet sources is provided.
The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors’ affiliated institutions.
