Evaluation for Public Health Informatics

Abstract

Both during development and after implementation of an information system, well-designed and timely evaluations are essential to help insure that the system accomplishes its intended purposes and is successful. In developing an evaluation, the evaluator needs to select an evaluation strategy and evaluation methods that are appropriate for analyzing the effectiveness of a system. Depending on the issues to be studied, an evaluator will select between subjectivist and objectivist methods or use a combination of both. Subjectivist strategies and methods focus on identifying the issues and the aspects of organizational culture that will impact system success. Objectivist strategies and methods, on the other hand, answer questions relative to specific and previously identified goals and objectives of a system. Regardless of the evaluation strategy and methods used, an evaluator’s conclusions will be of little use if they are not communicated in a clear, focused, credible evaluation report that directly addresses the purpose of the evaluation.