Program Evaluation: Developing and Implementing a Remediation Plan1
Updated April 30, 2021
Disclaimer: The activities in this document are intended for example purposes only. The actual activities implemented as part of TB program evaluation should be identified by state or local TB program officials in collaboration with other stakeholders. The example provided here is not intended to be applied directly to any specific TB program.
TB programs can use program evaluation as an opportunity to improve the program through planning and implementation of remediation strategies based on program evaluation findings.1 A remediation plan will take your program evaluation results to the next step in continuous quality improvement.2
The first step in developing an actionable remediation plan is to review your program evaluation findings. For instance, the example program evaluation plan Completion of Treatment for Tuberculosis Disease by Using Incentives and Enablers includes a section on how the program evaluation findings will be used to address identified barriers. The remediation plan should build on the information included in the program evaluation report, going into more detail about actions and activities that will address the barriers identified through program evaluation.
An actionable remediation plan should include goals and objectives:
The overall goal of a remediation plan is to address the areas where the TB program did not meet objectives and to implement strategies for long-term improvement in those areas. For example, our remediation plan goal for Completion of Treatment for Tuberculosis Disease by Using Incentives and Enablers should be based on addressing patient barriers for completing treatment using strategies that can be implemented long term.
Developing objectives for your remediation plan will help to ensure that the activities meet the specific achievements that your program wants to accomplish. See Developing Objectives and Evaluation Questions for TB Program Evaluation for information about developing objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound (SMART).
The goals and objectives should be followed by specific information about remediation plan activities, measures, timeline, dissemination of results and determining next steps. The table provides information about the elements that will help your program develop an action-oriented remediation plan.
These are specific activities that are decided upon by the TB program to address program evaluation findings. For example:
- Program evaluation finding: many TB patients have a difficult time arriving at the TB clinic during normal clinic hours to receive Directly Observed Therapy (DOT)
- Activity to address the finding: the TB program decides to partner with the STD clinic to offer extended hours and services for DOT of TB patients
Your plan should include measures to determine effectiveness of your activities. The criteria for each measure should be reasonable and quantifiable. For example:
- The number of STD clinic staff cross-trained in administration of TB DOT
- The number of TB patients who arrived at the STD clinic for TB DOT during extended clinic hours
- The percentage of TB patients who completed therapy by DOT
The timeline should cover the time it will take to:
- Implement new activities
- Collect data to determine their effectiveness
- Analyze and interpret data
- Disseminate results of the remediation plan
- Determine next steps
When developing a timeline, consider the following:
- Reasonable timeframe: give a reasonable and feasible amount of time to complete each proposed activity
- Resources: the TB program should have the necessary support (materials, staff, training, and collaboration) to implement and complete each activity
- Accountability: regular communication between staff who are implementing activities, project lead, and other stakeholders on progress, barriers, and achievements of remediation plan activities
Appoint a project lead to manage the implementation and monitoring of the remediation plan.
- This person will be responsible for keeping the plan moving according to the timeline, addressing issues that come up, and adjusting the plan activities or timeline as needed.
- The TB PEN focal point might be an excellent point person for the implementation of the remediation plan
List the activity leads who will manage the implementation and monitoring of specific activities in the remediation plan
Decide how you will disseminate results and determine next steps of your remediation plan. This may include reports to your program evaluation stakeholders.
- Results can be disseminated informally in meetings or conference calls and formally through reports and presentations. See “Sharing Program Evaluation Findings” for more information and suggestions.
- If you are required to submit an annual progress report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of TB Elimination, be sure to include the progress and results of your remediation plan.
Determine any next steps, such as policy or practice changes, other activities, or further evaluation based on your remediation plan findings
1For more information about using program evaluation findings and developing remediation plans:
- Tuberculosis Elimination and Laboratory Cooperative Agreementexternal icon (See page 51 for a description of remediation plan structure)
- Ensure Use of Evaluation Findings and Share Lessons Learned
- Beyond Reporting: Getting More Value out of Your Evaluationexternal icon
- Evaluation Toolkit: Improve Program with Evaluation Findingsexternal icon
2For more information about quality improvement in public health: