Practical Issues in Evaluating a Self-Structured Psychosocial and Medical Support Program for Women with HIV/AIDS: PROTOTYPES WomensLink, a Community-Based Organization

• NCJ Number: 187894
• Journal: Drugs and Society Volume: 16 Issue: 1/2 Dated: 2000 Pages: 163-184
• Author(s): Lisa A. Melchior Ph.D.; Chi Hughes M.S.W; Vivian B. Brown Ph.D.; G. J. Huba Ph.D.
• Editor(s): G. J. Huba Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes several issues encountered in designing and implementing the evaluation of the PROTOTYPES WomensLink program and presents several helpful strategies in measuring the progress of the program in achieving its goals, objectives, and desired outcomes.

Abstract

PROTOTYPES WomensLink was developed to meet the needs of women living with HIV in greater Los Angeles, California. At the WomensLink drop-in center, women select the program components in which to participate, reflecting their unique medical and psychosocial needs. PROTOTYPES developed WomensLink, a multi-cultural and collaborative model of service delivery bringing together a broad array of resources for women. This service model presents opportunities for successful collaborations between community-based programs and applied researchers. This article shows how an evaluation can define progress towards program goals and objectives to illustrate the flow of clients through a conceptual model. Information about each of the goals can be used to evaluate the program’s ability to implement the model initially proposed. In evaluating the WomensLink model program, programmatic and evaluation concerns have been integrated from the program’s inception. By ensuring that program evaluation elements are planned and implemented in parallel, the evaluation remains responsive to the needs of the women and to the service delivery model that evolves to meet those needs. In the case of WomensLink, the program successfully demonstrated the implementation of a continuum of care for women with HIV, from initial community contact to engaging and retaining the woman in a gender-specific, culturally sensitive model of care. In conclusion, the article discusses how the WomensLink program has demonstrated how program and evaluation staff can collaborate to produce an evaluation that is useful for clinical, administrative, and evaluation purposes. Tables and references