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Windows to Youth Health: Population Health Fund Program Evaluation for BC Region Youth Projects 2004/2005

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Introduction and Context

   • 2.1 The Population Health Fund (PHF)

   • 2.2 Youth Related Regional Funding Priorities

   • 2.3 Overview of the Population Health Fund Youth Projects

   • 2.4 Evaluation Context

3. Methodology

   • 3.1 Description of Methodology

   • 3.2 Limitations and Impacts

4. Findings

   • 4.1 Regional Priority Setting, Solicitation, Application and Review Processes

   • 4.2 Extent to Which Projects Met their Stated Goals and Objectives

   • 4.3 Extent to Which Projects Met Population Health Fund Goals and Objectives

     • 4.3.1 Community Capacity across the Determinants of Health

     • 4.3.2 Community-based Models for Applying the Population Health Approach

     • 4.3.3 Knowledge-base for Program and Policy Development on Population Health

     • 4.3.4 Partnerships and Intersectoral Collaborations to Address the Determinants of Health

   • 4.4 Extent to Which Projects Met Requirements of the Youth Funded Request for Proposal

     • 4.4.1 Youth Issues

     • 4.4.2 Personal Coping Skills and Income

     • 4.4.3 Priority to include Aboriginal and Multicultural Youth

   • 4.5 Projects’ Outcomes and Impacts

     • 4.5.1 Youth Participation and Involvement

     • 4.5.2 Education and Skill Development

     • 4.5.3 Healthy Lifestyle Choices

     • 4.5.4 Improved Service Access

     • 4.5.5 Community Awareness and Support

     • 4.5.6 Organizational Capacity

   • 4.6 Learnings about Evaluation of PHF Youth Projects

   • 4.7 Learnings about Sustainability

   • 4.8 Learnings about Health Canada Monitoring and Support Role

5. Recommendations

   • Appendices

     1. Summary of Each of the Ten Population Health BC/Yukon Region Youth Projects (Funded between April 2002 and March 2004)
     2. Evaluation Questions
     3. Documents Reviewed
     4. List of Products Developed by the Population Health BC/Yukon Region
     5. Population Health Fund BC Logic Model

Executive Summary

The purpose of this evaluation is to examine the overall effectiveness of Health Canada's Population Health Fund's (PHF) regional funding for youth in British Columbia and to produce a program evaluation roll-up report. This report was requested by the Health Canada's Population and Public Health Branch (PPHB), British Columbia Regional Office. The intent is for this report to be used by PPHB in BC for future planning but also to be distributed more broadly throughout Health Canada, other relevant federal and provincial government ministries, and to communities and organizations working with youth.

"Ten youth projects were funded by the PHFbetween April 2002 and March 2004..."

Ten youth projects were funded by the PHF between April 2002 and March 2004, with their scope ranging from local community to province-wide projects and addressing diverse issues impacting vulnerable youth including street involvement, addiction, school drop out, sexual exploitation, sexual preferences, and focusing on Aboriginal and multicultural youth.

The methods of data collection used for this evaluation were document reviews and interviews with key stakeholders. Content analysis of the documents was guided by a set of pre-determined evaluation questions. The evaluation questions were also used for interviews that were conducted with project representatives.

Findings of this evaluation report address the following key areas:

• Learnings with regard to regional priority setting, solicitation, application and review processes of the PHF.

• The extent to which projects met their stated goals including unexpected successes and challenges. All the projects reported meeting their stated goals with some indicating they surpassed their expectations. A number of projects succeeded in meeting their objectives even though they experienced major difficulties.

• The extent to which projects met the overall goal of the PHF to increase community capacity across the determinants of health, and the extent to which specific objectives of fund were met. A major contribution of the youth projects was their development and implementation of community-based models of prevention or intervention for youth. In addition, the projects developed products (materials, videos, etc.) that have contributed to the knowledge base for program and policy development of population health relating to youth issues. Further, many lessons can be learned from the projects' experiences with developing partnerships and intersectoral collaborations.

• The extent to which projects addressed requirements in the Regional Youth Funding Request for Proposal specifically relating to personal coping skills and income, and targeting Aboriginal and multicultural youth.

• The outcomes and impacts arising from the projects. Key outcomes discussed in the report include: youth participation and involvement, education and skill development, healthy lifestyle choices, improved services access, community awareness and support and organizational capacity. Indicators and learnings are identified in the report for each of these outcomes.

• Learnings about evaluation of the PHF youth projects including challenges faced by projects in developing logic models and in implementing their evaluations.

• Learnings about sustainability including examples of successful strategies projects used to facilitate the sustainability of their initiatives once the PHF contribution ended.

• Learnings about Health Canada's monitoring and support role and suggestions for future considerations to enhance support.

Recommendations for future actions are identified in the report and address:

• Priority setting and funding process of the PHF
• Project delivery and management
• Policy development and knowledge transfer
• Outcomes and impacts of the youth projects
• Evaluation
• Sustainability
• Health Canada's monitoring and support role.

In conclusion, this report indicates that, community youth organizations along with all levels of government and communities need to work together to develop an overall coordinated youth strategy in BC to address issues faced by youth. This youth strategy should build on the learnings from the PHF youth projects and consider the following:

• Utilize tested models and approaches of youth prevention and intervention and ensure that these models including related products, training and resource information are documented in plain language, and a process is established to transfer this knowledge more widely throughout BC and Canada.

• Develop common indicators of success and measurement tools for youth involvement, and for youth and community capacity building that can be implemented by a wide range of youth programs throughout the province.

• Support longitudinal research initiatives and develop longitudinal studies to more effectively determine the impact of prevention/intervention models on youth and their communities.

• Develop strategies that would assist organizations and communities addressing youth issues to form long-term partnerships with groups such as other levels of government, private sector and other funders that will contribute to the sustainability of youth initiatives.

• Involve youth as part of this strategy, not only at the community level, but within provincial and federal organizations to act as program advisors to youth funded projects.

Full Report - PDF
Catalogue No. H124-8/2005E
ISBN 0-662-39297-3
Issued by Public Health Agency of Canada

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