About this Course

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This course provides an introduction to evaluating public health programs at scale. This course focuses on evaluating public health programs and policies in low- and middle-income countries, however, core skills of designing and carrying out an evaluation are applicable to any public health programs and policies. The course will equip you with skills to:
1. Critique an evaluation of an international health program, identifying its strengths and possible weaknesses and how they could be addressed.
2. Develop a technically-sound evaluation plan for a reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health (RMNCAH) and nutrition program being implemented at scale in a low- or middle-income country, including evaluation design, key indicators, measurement methods, analysis, and communication of results.
3. Guide program managers and donors through a process of agreeing on priority evaluation activities included in an evaluation plan for a specific  RMNCAH and nutrition program.
4. Make informed decisions about whether they want to pursue further learning and/or a professional role as an evaluator of large-scale programs. 

The development of this course was supported by a grant from Government Affairs Canada (GAC) for the Real Accountability, Data Analysis for Results (RADAR) project.

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Beginner Level

This course is designed for public health professionals wishing to expand their knowledge on evaluating public health programs at scale.

Approx. 18 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

This course is designed for public health professionals wishing to expand their knowledge on evaluating public health programs at scale.

Approx. 18 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.83/5 (6 Ratings)

Agbessi Amouzou

Associate Professor

International Health

1,380 Learners

1 Course

Neff Walker

Senior Scientist

International Health

2,346 Learners

2 Courses

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week1

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Module 1: Getting Started in the Course

Program evaluations are important in global health for many reasons. Some of the most important reasons are to: 1) service as a "reality check" on subjective expectations; 2) to guide continued improvement of the program; and 3) to justify continued funding. In this course, you will learn how to design and carry out high-quality program evaluations that answer the priority questions of program managers. Although much of the content is relevant to all program evaluations, we will focus on the evaluation of programs being delivered at scale by governments and their partners in low and middle income countries. This module will introduce you to program evaluation and our focus on effectiveness evaluations of large-scale reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition (RMNCH&N) programs.

2 hours to complete

3 videos (Total 24 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz

3 videos

Welcome to Evaluating Public Health Programs at Scale6m5 priority questions for effectiveness evaluations3mDistinguishing among different types of evaluations14m

4 readings

Course objectives and syllabus5mReal Accountability: Data Analysis for Results (RADAR) project5mBiographies of course instructors and presenters10mEvaluation designs for adequacy, plausibility and probability of public health programme performance and impact30m

1 practice exercise

Module 1 Quiz45m

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Module 2: Designing the Evaluation - Part 1

2 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 75 min), 5 readings, 7 quizzes

10 videos

Welcome to Module 21mIdentifying stakeholders in an effectiveness evaluation of a large-scale program10mStakeholders in an evaluation of Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) in Burkina Faso 10mResolving different views among stakeholders4mHow to develop and maintain a program impact model10mIntroduction to the RADAR Evaluation Planning Tool10sEvaluation Planning Tool demonstration video12mIndicators: What are they and how do you select them? 11mWhere will the data come from?10mReview of Module 23m

5 readings

How to develop a comprehensive program description 10mCommon mistakes in developing an impact model10mAn introduction to “SMART” indicators10mAssessing the quality of existing data for your evaluation10mDemonstration10m

7 practice exercises

Stakeholders and program descriptionsCritique impact modelsUse the RADAR Evaluation Planning Tool to develop an impact modelIdentify indicators for components of an impact modelExplore DHS and MICS dataMaking judgements about indicators and data sources Module 2 Quiz

Week3

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Module 3: Designing the evaluation - Part 2

3 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 60 min), 4 readings, 4 quizzes

8 videos

Welcome to Module 31mDefining priority questions and the time perspective for effectiveness evaluations9mTime perspectives in the Burkina integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) evaluation 4mAttribution, contribution and counterfactuals in effectiveness evaluations6mEvaluation designs based on level of inference17mProbability evaluations7mDesign challenges in effectiveness evaluations9mReview of Module 33m

4 readings

Evaluating UNICEF's Accelerating Child Survival and Development (ACSD) program10mWhat if there is not enough money or time to carry out the “best practice” evaluation you have designed?10mHow Do You Know If Aid Really Works? Turns Out ... We Often Don't10mConfounders vs. Effect Modifiers10m

4 practice exercises

Time perspectives in effectiveness evaluations of large-scale programs30mDefining comparison groups 30mLesson 4 review quizModule 3 Quiz

Week4

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Module 4: Methods and tools to answer priority evaluation questions

4 hours to complete

16 videos (Total 172 min), 2 readings, 5 quizzes

16 videos

Welcome to Module 43mHow many lives will a program save?10mIntroducing the Lives Saved Tool (LiST)3mHow LiST works12mAssessing the strength of program implementation17mIntroducing the RADAR implementation strength assessment tools15mAssessing utilization11mThe health systems context for program evaluation6mAssessing the quality of service provision15mIntroducing the RADAR quality of care assessment tools 3mAssessing the quality of family planning services in Malawi6mWhat is coverage and how do you measure it?18mImproving coverage measurement11mIntroducing the RADAR coverage survey tool8mEstimating program impact20mReview of Module 44m

2 readings

LiST as a catalyst in program planning: experiences from Burkina Faso, Ghana and Malawi15mUnderstanding measures of nutritional impact10m

5 practice exercises

Lesson 3 Review QuizLesson 4 Review QuizLesson 5 Review QuizLesson 6 Review QuizModule 4 Quiz30m

Frequently Asked Questions

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What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
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Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Evaluating Public Health Programs at Scale

Evaluating Public Health Programs at Scale

About this Course