SPNS/Fax: An Electronic Report from HRSA/HAB's SPNS Cooperative Agreements:
Volume 1, Issue 17 (November 29, 1996)

Information dissemination from 27 Innovative Models of HIV Care projects funded as Special Projects of National Significance by the HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Introduction

Welcome to SPNS/Fax: An Electronic Report from HRSA/HAB's SPNS Cooperative Agreements. In each issue of SPNS/Fax, we will highlight findings from the HRSA Special Projects of National Significance Program Cooperative Agreements. The projects have been funded to develop innovative models of HIV/AIDS care. SPNS/Fax reports are distributed every two weeks by fax machine to all subscribers. All issues of SPNS/Fax are also available at this Web site. Due to slight differences in the media, issues distributed by fax machine may appear slightly different from those posted on this Web site, but the content is identical.

Invited Symposium at the American Psychological Association Meetings Discusses Cross-Site Evaluation Issues for SPNS Program Grantees

What are the issues that SPNS Program grantees face in developing and implementing successful cross-site evaluations of their innovative programs on HIV/AIDS care? This issue was discussed in an invited symposium at the August 1996 Meeting of the American Psychological Association in Toronto. The speakers were George J. Huba, Ph.D. and Lisa A. Melchior, Ph.D. from The Measurement Group and Barney Singer, J.D. from HRSA. Dr. Huba is the Director of The Measurement Group–PROTOTYPES Evaluation and Dissemination Center (EDC) for HRSA/HAB's SPNS Cooperative Agreement grantees, and Dr. Melchior is the Associate Director for Evaluation. Mr. Singer is the Director of the HRSA SPNS Program.

In a paper entitled, "Technical and Practical Design Issues in Cross-Site HIV Service Evaluations [HTML / PDF]," written with Dr. Melchior, Dr. Huba discussed a number of technical issues inherent in evaluating demonstration programs on HIV/AIDS. Discussions included: how those issues relate to evaluations of current national demonstration programs; strategies of evaluation design; trade-offs involved in translating technical issues into real-world program evaluations; and the role of common sense in conducting such evaluations. It was the conclusion of the authors that several of the technical problems cannot be solved directly, and that it is necessary to include the judgment both of methodologists and clinical staff of the programs to be evaluated and the people who these programs serve. The diagram at the left shows how program evaluations are often a balance of scientifically-driven evaluation questions and accurate, clinically meaningful program description. A number of specific guidelines were given.

In a paper entitled, "Issues in Implementing Multisite Evaluations of HIV Service Demonstration Programs [HTML / PDF]," written with Dr. Huba, Dr. Melchior discussed the need for HIV program evaluations to cover a broad range of issues and to use a variety of data collection methods. She also described a number of strategies for pooling data from diverse programs for cross-cutting evaluations. The importance of establishing consensus definitions and procedures, as well as the role of continuing training for data collectors was stressed. The modular evaluation model being used in the cross-site evaluation of the 27 HRSA SPNS Cooperative Agreement Projects is highlighted in the box at the right.

In his discussion of the two papers, Mr. Singer talked about the overall focus of federal demonstration projects on HIV/AIDS services. He then described the critical role that applied evaluation plays in assessing the effectiveness of the projects he administers for HRSA. Finally, he discussed the specific policy implications for trends drawn from data gathered under the cross-site evaluation of the Cooperative Agreement Projects.

To continue sharing symposium information, the Evaluation and Dissemination Center has posted all presentation slides (including the two above) at its web site. To see these slide shows, access the web page by clicking here and follow the instructions below to run the slide shows from the APA symposium. There is no limit to the number of times these presentations can be run by any individual. Also on the web site is a slide show on the evaluation strategy employed by the 27 Cooperative Agreement Projects and a listing of their data modules.

SPNS/Fax is produced by The Measurement Group–PROTOTYPES Evaluation and Dissemination Center (EDC). Editorial comments should be made to The Measurement Group at 5811A Uplander Way, Culver City, California 90230, 310.216.1051, 310.670.7735 (fax).
 

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