DHDSP Evaluation Plan

Evaluation Plan Priorities

Executive Summary
Within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s)
Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, we have
developed an Evaluation Plan to assess the relevance, quality,
and impact of our Division activities.
This plan includes our many cross-cutting activities
intended to achieve the goals within our strategic plan.
We designed this plan to be flexible enough to adapt to a
dynamic environment over time. This flexibility will be critical in
monitoring our short- and long-term progress in achieving our public
health mission and goals.

Our Evaluation Plan is guided by three overarching questions:

Our Evaluation Plan lays out systems and processes
by which we can evaluate the breadth of our
Division activities through the logic model.
However, evaluating the long-term impact is not
appropriate in the near term because the distal
goals, existing well outside the Division’s direct
influence, require coordination of both intervention
and evaluation activities with partners as well as
sufficient time to lay the foundation for
achievement. To this end, we are focusing our
immediate evaluation efforts on translation and
dissemination activities and on short-term
adoption, practice, and sustainability outcomes
(i.e., the left side of the logic model). The following
assessments are, therefore, our highest priorities:
• Assess the management, coordination, and
staff development within the Division.
• Translate and disseminate the current
knowledge base; identify ways to improve it.
• Enhance the ability of programs to apply
findings to improve public health.

“We want to see that
things are not just out
there but are driving
decision-making.”
—DHDSP Stakeholder

As reflected by our priority assessments,
we believe that strong management and
coordination, together with staff
development, are critical in creating the
foundation needed to carry out our
activities and achieve short-term
outcomes. These assessments will require
us to determine our effectiveness in setting
a public health agenda and in leading
national planning efforts. Such
information will help us accomplish the
following:
•
•
•
•

Identify areas for improvement.
Plan appropriate corrective action.
Focus quality improvement efforts.
Ensure that the right actions are taken
to improve our performance over time.

Relevance: Is the Division engaged in the most appropriate activities?
Quality: Are Division activities well implemented?
Impact: Is the Division’s work having the intended effect?
With input from external partners, stakeholders within CDC developed
this Evaluation Plan and ensured that it is appropriate for the Division’s
developmental stage.

For More Information...
Benefits of the Evaluation Plan
Through our Evaluation Plan, our ultimate goal is to capture information related
to our long-term public health impact on reducing the burden of heart disease
and stroke. Although direct causality related to the Division’s work
will be difficult to assess, measuring outcomes, along with process-level variables,
will help us demonstrate our progress toward improving the public’s health.

More detailed information on the DHDSP Strategic Plan and Evaluation Plan
is available at http://www.cdc.gov/DHDSP/index.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention
Mail Stop K–47 • 4770 Buford Highway, NE • Atlanta, Georgia 30341
770 488 2424 • Fax 770 488 8151 • www.cdc.gov/DHDSP

Division Evaluation Plan

“We set priorities to
ensure the most
effective possible
use of our resources.”
—DHDSP Stakeholder

Relevance:

Quality:

Impact:

IS THE DIVISION ENGAGED IN THE
MOST APPROPRIATE ACTIVITIES?

ARE DIVISION ACTIVITIES WELL IMPLEMENTED?

IS THE DIVISION’S WORK HAVING THE INTENDED EFFECT?

After interviewing key Division stakeholders, we
identified what we considered to be the essential
components of a “successful” Division. Guided by these
core elements, we constructed the three-part conceptual
model below to illustrate how we conduct our work,
what public health strategies we use, and why we exist.

The quality of our work is measured by our ability to promote effective public health strategies.
A number of factors impact the quality of our work, including how much influence we have
over the implementation of strategies and how much time it takes to achieve outcomes.
These principles are basic to all evaluation questions and help determine our evaluation
priorities for the Division.

Impacts noted on the far right side of the logic model reflect our Division
goals and those identified in A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart
Disease and Stroke. These elements will be used to assess the longer-term
impact of collaborative efforts with and among our partners.

Our ability to promote effective public health strategies starts with our Division planning on
the far left side of the logic model below. These elements are needed to accomplish our daily
work. By ensuring that these elements are adequate and communicated effectively to staff, we
will improve our organization as well as the efficiency of our work.

Planning

Division leadership that
provides sufficient:
• Infrastructure
• Policies
• Strategic planning

Activities

Translation &
Dissemination

Effective
• Management
• Coordination
• Staff
development

WHAT strategies we use.
The middle ring represents our activities in the areas of evaluation, surveillance, communication,
policy, programs, and research. These activities represent our principal tools in achieving public
health impact.
WHY we exist.
The center of the model reflects our Division’s mission - to serve as the nation’s public health
leader for achieving cardiovascular health for all and eliminating disparities in the burden of heart
disease and stroke. Our mission is achieved by applying the mechanisms and activities in the
outer and middle rings.

Translation and
dissemination of
the current
knowledge base
and identification
of ways to improve
it.

Increased adoption,
reach, and
sustainability of
recommended public
health strategies to
achieve strategic plan
goals:

Increased advocacy
and activated
constituency
Enhanced external
application of
Division goals and
strategies

Workforce that is:
• Diverse
• Skilled
Division workplace that:
• Offers a healthy work
environment
• Recognizes excellence
• Provides quality training
and management
• Includes effective
systems, procedures
and communication
(Goal 5)

Adoption, Practice, Sustainability

Engaged network of
states and partners

Resources that are:
• Available
• Timely

HOW we conduct our work.
The outer ring of the model indicates the mechanisms through which we accomplish our work
in the Division. Leadership, workforce, and resources are critical elements in accomplishing our
public health mission. We apply these elements through strategic planning and expand our
work through collaboration with partners. Applying these elements to eliminate disparities is
a guiding principle within and across all of our activities and programs.

EVALUATION PLANNING LOGIC MODEL

Enhanced ability of
programs to apply
findings to improve
public health
Enhanced
competency of public
health workforce

Enhanced integration
among chronic
disease programs

EXTERNAL

Increased focus on
heart disease and
stroke prevention
efforts by states and
partners, especially
with regard to
disparities.

• Prevent risk factors
for heart disease
and stroke (Goal 1)
• Increase detection
and treatment of
risk factors
(Goal 2)
• Increase early
identification and
treatment of heart
attacks and strokes
(Goal 3)
• Prevent recurring
cardiovascular
events (Goal 4)

Impact

Reduced risk factors

Reduced morbidity
and mortality from
heart disease and
stroke

Increased
knowledge of signs
and symptoms

Reduced levels of
disparities in heart
disease and stroke

Improved quality
of care

Reduced number of
preventable strokes
and risks

Improved emergency
response

Reduced economic
impact of heart
disease and stroke