Evaluation Questions

Rural HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs may ask different types of evaluation questions. Process evaluations look at what was implemented and how well it was implemented, while outcome evaluations examine whether a program is having the intended effects for the target population.

For additional information about process and outcome evaluations, see Evaluation Design in the Rural Community Health Toolkit.

Some examples of questions that might be asked during a process or an outcome evaluation are provided below.

• Questions for a Process Evaluation
  • What HIV/AIDS prevention or treatment services were delivered and to whom? (for example, condom distribution, screening programs, case management services, medication assistance)
  • How many people participated in the program?
  • How many screenings were conducted every month? How does this compare to previous months?
  • What challenges did the program face when trying to help people stay in treatment? What made this process easier?
  • What barriers to accessing HIV/AIDS prevention or treatment services did people report?
• Questions for an Outcome Evaluation
  • Have rates of new HIV diagnoses decreased among the program's target population?
  • Did participants report greater knowledge of safer sex behaviors at the end of the program?
  • Has the program demonstrated measurable improvements in health outcomes, like higher rates of medication adherence?
  • Has the program increased access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS?
  • What policy changes regarding HIV/AIDS prevention or treatment have resulted from the program?
  • Did the program contribute to a reduction in HIV risk behaviors among people living with HIV/AIDS individuals and high-risk individuals?

Resources to Learn More

Developing Evaluation Questions
Document
Offers guidance on how to develop practical, meaningful evaluation questions for sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention and treatment programs by involving stakeholders, brainstorming ideas, reviewing the project logic model, and prioritizing questions according to relevance.
Organization(s): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention

Medical Care Coordination Services for Persons Living with HIV in Los Angeles County: A Robust Strategy to Strengthen the HIV Care Continuum
Document
An example of an evaluation report that could be used as a model. Outlines the implementation and evaluation of a locally developed program in Los Angeles County, the Medical Care Coordination Program, which addresses the unmet medical and non-medical needs of people living with HIV through coordinated case management activities.
Author(s): Garland, W.H., Oksuzyan, S., Mejia, M., & Kulkarni, S.
Organization(s): Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Year: 2017