Citation

Reischl TM, Buss AN. J. Public Health Manag. Pract. 2005; 2005(Suppl): S100-S105.

Affiliation

University of Michigan School of Public Health, 109 S. Observatory Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. reischl@umich.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16205526

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe how the Michigan Center for Public Health Preparedness (MI-CPHP) responded to the challenge and urgency in delivering competency-based preparedness training and documenting its impact utilizing a responsive evaluation approach. METHODS: Pretest-posttest evaluation designs were implemented when feasible to document the impact of training activities on knowledge and competency gains. The development of evaluation instruments is described with a focus on being responsive to the specific goals of each training activity. A randomized experimental design was used to examine the effects of taking a pretest for one of the training events. RESULTS: The analyses noted statistically significant improvements for every comprehensive training event in key content knowledge and self-rated competencies. The impact of taking a pretest revealed a modest, but statistically significant, effect on the self-rated competencies and a nonsignificant effect on the content knowledge scores. CONCLUSIONS: A summary of the results and their implications is followed by a discussion about taking a responsive approach to evaluating the training activities of the MI-CPHP. The challenge of evaluating the impact of knowledge-focused training activities on the development of performance competencies was also reviewed.

Language: en