Section III: Program Planning and Evaluation

Now, let's see how to develop a plan to address a public health challenge. We'll talk generally about program planning and evaluation, then apply what we've learned to arthritis.

A Generic Model for Program Planning and Evaluation

Program planning and evaluation is an iterative (cyclical and continuous) process to ensure program success and continual improvement. Although the specific application of planning and evaluation tools may differ in various organizations or fields, program planning and evaluation models are similar regardless of the forum in which they are applied. We will examine a model in a moment, but first we need to clarify our terminology. Different fields and organizations have different terms for various aspects of programs. In the public health approach, we will use the following program planning cycle terminology.