ABSTRACT
Hearing-loss prevention programs, like other health promotion programs, benefit from
an evaluation process to determine their effectiveness. A thorough evaluation not
only helps to ensure that a program is accomplishing its goals but also can identify
areas that need to be revised or strengthened. By documenting that a program is meeting
its goals and objectives, administrators can demonstrate to funding agencies that
the program is worthy of investment, both now and in the future. Evaluations also
can be used to assist other programs in development: lessons learned along the way
can be documented and shared. For these reasons, evaluation is an essential part of
all educational programs. However, evaluation is not always emphasized in health promotion
programs because of the time, resources, and expertise required to carry out the process
in a systematic way. This article describes the processes and procedures employed
to evaluate the Dangerous Decibels hearing-loss prevention program. These experiences
convinced us that a thorough evaluation is not only necessary but also is key to developing
a successful and sustainable program.
KEYWORDS
Hearing-loss prevention - program evaluation - health promotion - formative evaluation
- summative evaluation
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2
Only the questionnaires for grade 4 are listed in Appendices [A-C Questionnaires for grade 7 are available by contacting the author.
griests@ohsu.edu
