Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 16

Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions. Write your answers in your Study Diary and discuss them with your Tutor at the next Study Support Meeting. You can check your answers with the Notes on the Self-Assessment Questions at the end of this Module.

SAQ 16.1 (tests Learning Outcome 16.2)

List at least three purposes of evaluating your health education activities, and explain briefly why they are important.

Answer

Evaluating your own health education activities helps you in various ways. For instance, it helps you to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of your activities. In addition, evaluation helps you to improve your health education practice by learning from your successes and your mistakes.

SAQ 16.2 (tests Learning Outcomes 16.3 and 16.4)

Identify three methods of evaluation that you could use to evaluate your health education activities, and indicate in which type of evaluation the methods you have listed might be used.

Answer

There are various methods you can use to evaluate your own activities — observation, interviews and focus group discussion. Based on your own requirements, each of these methods could be used in all types of evaluations (process, impact and outcome).

SAQ 16.3 (tests Learning Outcomes 16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.4 and 16.5)

Nigist is a Health Extension Practitioner. She is working in a village called Jogola. She has planned health education sessions on the proper use of condoms for young men. She planned to increase the number of men who use condoms properly by 30 after three months. She implemented her plan for three months. During the second month of her implementation, she conducted process evaluation. After three months, she evaluated the effectiveness and the efficiency of her health education activities. In addition, she did some impact evaluation. In all evaluations she interviewed a selection of young men.

Based on this information, answer the following questions.

  • a.Define all the words printed in bold in the example above.
  • b.Will these various evaluation projects help Nigist in her future activities? How?
  • c.Identify the types of evaluation that Nigist has conducted.
  • d.Identify the evaluation method that Nigist has used.
  • e.List the evaluation steps that Nigist followed.

Answer

  • a.Process evaluation means assessing the process of health education implementation and how the implementation takes place. It can occur throughout your activities and can guide you to make changes to maximise your effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness refers to the extent to which the stated objectives are achieved. Efficiency means the extent to which the objectives are achieved with minimum resources. In other words, it refers to proper utilisation of the resources in achieving health education objectives. Impact evaluation refers to assessing the immediate effects of the health education activity on the people who have received health education. It is carried out at the end of health education activities. In impact evaluation you look at changes in health awareness, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, skills or behaviours.
  • b.Yes, they will help her in her future activities. For instance, she can learn from the successes and from the mistakes.
  • c.She has undertaken process evaluation and impact evaluation.
  • d.She has used the interview method.
  • e.There are six steps in Nigist’s evaluation. She has involved local people, described the activities to be evaluated, selected appropriate evaluation methods, collected data, analysed the data, and finally learnt from the evaluation findings. Nigist followed all these steps in order to evaluate her health education activities.

SAQ 16.4 (tests Learning Outcome 16.3)

Match the correct effects of evaluation to the types of evaluation below.

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

  1. Changes in attitude

  2. Reduced mortality

  3. How health education activities have been carried out

  • a.Process evaluation

  • b.Outcome evaluation

  • c.Impact evaluation

The correct answers are:
  • 1 = c
  • 2 = b
  • 3 = a

Summary of Study Session 16