NBCCEDP Evaluation

CDC's Framework for Program Evaluation includes standards and evaluation steps. The standards involved are Utility, Feasibility, Propriety, and Accuracy. The evaluation steps are engaging stakeholders, describing the program, focusing the evaluation design, gathering credible evidence, justifying conclusions, and ensuring use and share lessons learned.

Figure 1: CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation

CDC will evaluate the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) to track progress and measure outputs and outcomes. The three main purposes of evaluation and performance monitoring of the NBCCEDP are to—

Improve award recipient programs.
Strengthen CDC’s accountability to the public and Congress, as well as award recipients’ accountability to CDC.
Inform future program planning and policy-making.

CDC’s program evaluation team developed this evaluation plan based on CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation (Figure 1). It is guided by the NBCCEDP logic model.[PDF-53KB]

Methods

CDC’s evaluation team will conduct a multi-component, mixed-methods evaluation of the NBCCEDP to include data collection at the award recipient, health system clinic, and patient levels. The primary outcomes of interest include the number of women served and their screening outcomes, and changes in clinic-level breast and cervical cancer screening rates. The evaluation questions address the following general focus areas—

Patient screening, including screening quality and results.
Clinic-level screening rate changes.
Patient demographics and eligibility criteria.
Characteristics of clinics where evidence-based interventions are implemented.
Implementation and sustainability of evidence-based interventions.
Program reach.
Partnerships to support screening.
Community outreach and patient navigation.
Support of healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Award recipient infrastructure.
Award recipients’ monitoring and evaluation.

Standard Data Collections

Patient Data

Patient-level data are collected twice a year on patient demographics, screening tests, screening results, final diagnosis, and treatment initiation if needed.

Clinic Data

Clinic-level data are collected each year on breast and cervical cancer screening rates, clinic characteristics, and evidence-based implementation.

Award Recipient Survey

Award recipient-level data are collected each year on program management, program implementation, partnerships, challenges, and techncal assistance needs.

Special Studies

Studies such as strategy implementation efficiency and cost-effectiveness will be conducted.

Use of Findings and Dissemination

The use of evaluation findings will vary by stakeholders. We anticipate that federal stakeholders such as U.S. Congress and CDC leadership are most interested in the program’s reach to priority populations, patient screening results, changes in clinic-based breast and cervical screening rates, and cost-related analyses of program strategies. CDC uses findings to inform the technical assistance they provide to award recipients. Award recipients use these findings to inform program planning and improve implementation practices to maximize program outcomes. Other external stakeholders such as national partners and the public are interested in understanding program reach and screening results across specific priority populations.