Importance of Evaluation for Health Equity Programs and Initiative
Evaluation is an important aspect of health equity initiatives in particular. There are many reasons for and benefits of evaluating health equity programs. For example, successful evaluations can help to:
- Show how health equity initiatives affect the population(s) of focus
- Assess the outcomes and unintended consequences of health equity programs
- Strengthen the evidence base on advancing health equity and promoting health
- Build staff, community member, and organizational-level capacity, confidence, and expertise in data collection and analysis
- Provide information to help raise awareness of health equity issues
- Improve understanding of the populations served by health equity programs
- Monitor progress toward meeting community goals
- Support strategic planning and identify potential program priorities and improvements
- Identify new partners and strengthen existing partnerships
- Increase buy-in from community members and partners
- Provide information to make the case for policy changes that advance health equity
- Promote accountability, trust, and credibility between health equity initiatives and the larger community
- Support funding applications, sustainability, and the business case for health equity programs