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Unit of study_

PUBH5227: Public Health Program Evaluation

2025 unit information

Comprehensive evaluation of public health and disease prevention programs is critical to developing an evidence base for public health practice as well as for accountability to stakeholders. Evaluations demonstrate the efficacy, effectiveness and/or efficiency of the program and provide models of good practice. This course builds skills in planning, conducting and using formative, process, impact and outcome evaluations of public health programs, with an emphasis on those which address public health approaches to chronic disease prevention. Using three highly interactive workshops (Workshops 1 and 2 on a consecutive Friday and Saturday) supplemented by online resources and four weeks of online discussions, students will participate in readings, group work, lectures and discussions, to develop skills in defining the purpose of an evaluation, defining the evaluation questions, selecting evaluation designs and measures for evaluation (and understand the process of measurement development). A specific focus will be on skills to critically appraise evaluations and to use results in practice. Workshop 3 will be devoted to methods for scaling up interventions to the population level, and to the design and evaluation of multi-faceted complex public health programs, including presentations by currently practicing public program managers.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Medicine and Health

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Public Health
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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PUBH5033
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. analyse and correctly apply levels of evaluation to public health programs
  • LO2. generate logic models in order to understand how they can inform evaluations of public health programs
  • LO3. evaluate the appropriateness of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods study design in program evaluation
  • LO4. create and evaluate different types of quantitative measures in order to use them appropriately in program evaluation
  • LO5. demonstrate an understanding of the purpose and limitations of natural experiments for evaluation
  • LO6. apply concepts of program complexity and the purpose and process of scaling up.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2024
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2024
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2025
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Semester 2 2025
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 Early 2020
Distance education/intensive on campus Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2021
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2021
Block mode Remote
Semester 2 2021
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2022
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2022
Block mode Remote
Semester 2 2022
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2023
Block mode Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2023
Online Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

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