Biomedical subjects

Mary E Cramer

Publications and source records attributed to Mary E Cramer.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Evaluation informs coalition programming for environmental tobacco smoke reduction.

The objective for this formative evaluation was to establish baseline data for informing a community coalition's strategic planning in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) risk reduction. The coalition had chosen 3 targeted settings for ETS risk reduction: restaurants, childcare facilities, and government buildings. The evaluation methodology involved telephone interviews (restaurants, n = 805; governmental buildings, n = 258) and mailed surveys (childcare facilities, n = 1,142). Data on county residents and businesses were used for comparison purposes and were analyzed from the Nebraska Social Climate Survey (2001; n = 558). Evaluation baseline findings showed that licensed childcare facilities were more ETS knowledgeable, less ETS tolerant, and more smoke-free than restaurants. Residents were more bothered by ETS than what restaurant proprietors perceived. The majority of governmental buildings were not smoke-free. Conclusions were that community health nurse evaluators can provide coalitions with formative evaluative data to inform strategic planning and increase the likelihood of effective program interventions for community impact on ETS.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comprehensive evaluation of a community coalition: a case study of environmental tobacco smoke reduction.

Community coalitions have become an increasingly popular means for addressing community health issues, yet evaluating their effectiveness and performance has presented formidable challenges. To meet the community's need for health program evaluation, public health nurses will need to become better prepared to deal with the complexities of evaluating coalitions and their multifaceted organizational structures. This article presents the methodology and conceptual framework, Targeting Outcomes of Programs (TOP), used to evaluate the performance and impact of a local community coalition. The case study offered here focuses on a tobacco-prevention coalition composed of 15 public and private agencies and their 121 activities. The TOP evaluation model provided the coalition with formative evaluation, needed to improve the coalition's on-going program delivery, and summative evaluation, needed for annual reviews of the coalition's effectiveness and impact in the community. The methodological approach and instrument presented here provide the public health nurse with a solid conceptual framework for approaching such a task.

Community Health Planning↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A conceptual model for understanding effective coalitions involved in health promotion programming.

Funding agencies are increasingly focused on community coalitions as effective entities for promoting public health programs. Yet, there has been no conceptual model for understanding how effective coalition infrastructure works to facilitate a learning environment, wherein coalition members and leaders receive ongoing training and technical assistance needed to accomplish their external programming goals. This article presents a conceptual model for measuring the internal effectiveness of coalitions [Internal Coalition Outcome Hierarchy (ICOH)]. The ICOH model served as the basis for development of the evaluation instrument, Internal Coalition Effectiveness, which measures internal coalition effectiveness based on achievement of organizational outcomes at each of the model's seven hierarchical levels. The ICOH conceptual model has broad application for public health nurses who are frequently called on to serve as evaluators for community coalitions engaged in health programming. The model has implications for evaluators to use in teaching coalition members and leaders about their internal strengths and areas for improvement, so that coalitions can develop more effective internal structures and thereby promote long-term sustainability.

Community Participation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Measuring community coalition effectiveness using the ICE instrument.

This article presents the development and psychometric testing of the Internal Coalition Effectiveness (ICE) instrument, which was based on the conceptual model Internal Coalition Outcome Hierarchy. Sixty-one items were derived from literature about successful coalitions, and the ICE instrument was tested for reliability and validity. A national panel of eight experts conducted content validity. Remaining tests involved a sample of 61 members and leaders of a large midwestern coalition (77% response rate, n=47). Content validity involved a two-stage process for rigorous item development and quantification (0.88, p<0.05). Internal consistency was based on bivariate Pearson's correlation of 0.30-0.70 for two-item scales and Cronbach's alpha(alpha=0.70). Construct validity was assessed by correlation analysis, independent Student's t tests, and informal coalition feedback. The final 30-item version of ICE is psychometrically sound. Findings were shared with the local coalition, and, in support of the instrument's validity, members and leaders found this information useful for promoting coalition sustainability by identifying internal strengths and areas for improvement. The ICE instrument adds to the body of literature by measuring critical constructs of coalition effectiveness and has significant application for public health nurses working as evaluators for coalitions engaged in community health programming.

Health Care Coalitions↗