ARCHIVED - Population Health Fund Evaluation 2008 Final Report

APPENDIX B

Population Health Fund Interview Guide

1. Population Health Approach

The Population Health Approach recognizes that many factors, in addition to the health care system, have a strong influence on health. The approach attempts to influence the health of a population through acting on the social, economic and physical environmental factors that influence health. The approach promotes prevention and positive action on these determinants which affect the health of the population as a whole, or that of specific population groups. Action is expected to involve participation of the population being served, and partners from different sectors to achieve objectives.

We would like to learn about how the Population Health Approach is used in your agency, and how it fits with the work you do. Please consider your experience with all projects you have had funded by the Population Health Fund.

1.1. How well does the Population Health Approach fit within your organization?
(Possible probes: Is it consistent with the mandate/past approach of the organization, with the way the agency thinks about health and social issues?)

1. Very well
2. Reasonably well
3. Not very well

Comments:

1.2. Are you using the Population Health Approach within your agency other than in projects funded by the Population Health Fund?

(Probes: Is it used in your day-to-day work, in projects funded from sources other than the Population Health Fund?)

1. Yes
   Describe
2. No

1.3. Does your organization intend to use the Population Health Approach in future work within your organization?

(Probes: Will you focus on determinants, partnerships, participant involvement?)

1. Yes
   How?
2. No
   Why not?

Any Other Comments on the Population Health Approach:

2. Partnership

Collaboration is a principle of the Population Health Approach. We would now like to learn about your work with partners on this project.

2.1. How easy or difficult was it to put the principle of partnership into practice in this project?

1. Very easy
2. Somewhat easy
3. Somewhat difficult
4. Very difficult

Comments:

2.2 Were any of the partners you worked with on this project new partners that you hadn’t worked with before?

1. Yes
2. No

If yes,

2.2.2 Have you worked with any of the new partners(from listing in final report) on other initiatives since this project was completed?
(Probe: On day to day work? On other projects?)

1. Yes
   Comments:
2. No

Other Comments on Partnership:

3. Use of Volunteers

3.1 Were volunteers involved in the planning and/or implementation of this project?

0 No

1 Yes

If yes,

3.1.1 How many volunteers were involved?

1. 0 to 5
2. 6 to 10
3. 11 to 20
4. 21 to 50
5. 51 to 100
6. Over 100
7. Don’t know

How did you keep track of how many volunteers worked on the project?

3.1.2 How many hours in total did the volunteers contribute to the project?

Don’t know

How did you keep track of the volunteer hours?

3.1.3 What roles did the volunteers play in the project?

Served on a project advisory committee Y N
Served on a project steering committee Y N
Delivered services/conducted events for the project Y N
Distributed materials for the project Y N
Other (specify) Y N

3.1.4 Were these volunteers

1. Members of the target population?
2. Members of the larger community?
3. Both types of volunteers were involved.

Other comments on the use of volunteers:

4. Dissemination

We would now like to learn about the distribution of materials produced by the project, and the extent to which you think they have been used by or influenced others.

4.1 Did you produce any materials in this project that you believe could be of value to other organizations that were not involved directly in the project?

0 No

1 Yes

If yes,

4.1.1 Please tell us what those materials are, and what type of materials they are.
Are they

1. Information or analysis to support policy development
2. Information or analysis to support program development
3. Public information materials
4. Professional information materials
5. Training curriculum/educational materials
6. Program manuals /materials
7. Other (specify)

Title/Description

Type of Product
(1 through 7)

4.1.2 Are you currently using these products for delivering programs or services, or influencing policy, within your own organization?

0 No
1 Yes

If yes, How?

If no, why not?

4.1.3 Have you made efforts to disseminate these products?

0 No
1 Yes

If yes, how have you disseminated them? How many organizations/individuals have received or accessed them?

4.1.2 Do you know of other organizations that have used these products?

0 No
1 Yes

If yes, please name up to five of these organizations, and provide contact information if possible.

4.2 What, if anything, limited you in your attempts to disseminate or distribute the materials from this project?

(Probes: Did you do as much as you would like? If not, what would you have needed to do more?)

Any other comments on Dissemination:

5. Project Outcomes

We would like to know what information you have about the outcomes produced by the project. This information may be included in a formal evaluation report, or based on data you collected outside of a formal evaluation process. We have several questions. Please answer those that you can.

5.1 Do you have information on how many individuals in the target population were reached by the project? If so, how many? How was it tracked?

5.2 Do you have information on how satisfied the participants in the project were? If so, how was it gathered? Can you summarize the results?

5.3 Do you have evidence that there were changes in the target population in:
Indicate Not Applicable if the project was not intended to have any effect on the attribute listed. Otherwise, answer Yes or No

5.4 Were any policies changed in the community, or in organizations serving the community, as a result of your project? If so, please describe them.

5.5 Were there changes in relationships among community stakeholders as a result of your project? If so, please describe them.

5.6 Did your organization use any evaluation tools and/or references in your data analysis?If yes, what tool(s) did your organization use? (Please specify)

If no, what kind of tools would your organization need in order to evaluate your findings? (Please explain

Other comments on the outcomes of the project:

6. Process

We’d like to learn your opinions about the process of applying for Population Health Funds and the support you received in implementing and reporting on the project.

6.1. How did you learn about the funding available through the Population Health Fund?

1. Solicitation letter
2. Health Canada web site
3. Health Canada Consultant
4. Another agency/organization
5. Other (specify)

6.2. Were the application guidelines clear?

1. Very clear
2. Reasonably clear
3. Not clear

Comments:

6.3. How would you rate the support you received from Public Health Consultants in:

(Probes: Were the Public Health Staff available to answer questions? Did they get information to you in a timely manner? Other forms of support?)

Proposal development

1. Excellent Comments:
2. Good
3. Fair
4. Poor

Project implementation

1. Excellent Comments:
2. Good
3. Fair
4. Poor

6.4. What difficulties, if any, did you have with the processes established for the Population Health Fund?

(Probes: Was the application process fair? Were the reporting requirements clear and reasonable? Were financial requirements okay? Did you receive payments in a timely manner?)

6.5. Do you have any other suggestions to improve the operation of the Population Health Fund from your perspective?

WRAP UP

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your project, or your experience with the Population Health Fund?