Correspondence Address:
Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava
3rd Floor, Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Ammapettai Village, Thiruporur - Guduvancherry Main Road, Sembakkam Post, Kancheepuram - 603 108, Tamil Nadu
India

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Dear Editor,

The program managers from all the nations have planned and implemented various strategies to ensure provision of quality assured health care services to all. [1] However, as most of these health services are extremely complex and are built on the basis of thorough situation analysis, there is a crucial need to evaluate these strategies so that the policies can be subsequently modified. [2] In general, evaluation refers to the comprehensive process by which observed outcomes can be compared with the pre-decided targets. [3],[4] In the modern era, based on the findings of a holistic evaluation process, decisions pertaining to the financial grant for a specific program is made. [4],[5]

However, to enhance the credibility of an evaluation, the steps should be uniform, pre-defined, clear, and flexible enough to be customized based on local needs. [6] Ideally the evaluation process comprises of the following steps, namely identifying what has to be evaluated (structure or process or outcome evaluation); setting standards and criteria to assess accomplishment of pre-decided targets; devising methodology to perform evaluation; data collection; systematic analysis and interpretation of data; followed by implementation of corrective measures; and finally performing re-evaluation to assess the results of the remedial steps. [2],[7],[8]

Any evaluation process should explore six different facets of a health strategy, namely evaluation of relevance, adequacy, accessibility, efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency. [2],[9],[10] In fact, the program evaluation component has to be designed even prior to the start of any health strategy. [5] In addition, the evaluation process should not be restricted to the health care providers, but should also cover the needs of individuals or communities, so that health indicators can be improved as a whole. [11]

In conclusion, evaluation of health strategy is a complex and an integral component of planning and successfully implementing a health scheme. Thus, program managers should realize its importance and give due attention to it in order to ensure improvement in the well-being of the masses.

References