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Consider the Format
Decide the most appropriate way to present
information in the report to your audience.
Consider the following formats:
• Concise, including hard-hitting findings
and recommendations
• General, including an overview written for
the public at the ninth-grade level
• Scientific, including a methodology
section, detailed discussion,
and references
• Visual, including more charts and graphics
than words
• Case studies, including other
storytelling methods
Selected Elements to Include
Depending on your chosen audience and
format, include the following sections:
• Program results/findings
• Evaluation methods
• Program chronology/history
• Theoretical basis for program
• Implications
• Recommendations
• Barriers, reasons for unmet objectives
9. Disseminate the Evaluation Report
Ask selected stakeholders and key
individuals to review the evaluation report
before it is released so that they can identify
concerns that might compromise its impact.
When the report is ready for release,
consider developing a dissemination
strategy for the report, just as you did for
your program products, so the intended
audiences you’ve chosen will read it. Don’t
go to the hard work of writing the report
only to file it away.
Letting others know about the program
results and continuing needs may prompt
them to share similar experiences, lessons,
new ideas, or potential resources that you
could use to refine the program. In fact,
feedback from those who have read the
evaluation report or learned about your
findings through conference presentations
or journal coverage can be valuable for
refining the program and developing new
programs. You may want to develop a formal
mechanism for obtaining feedback from peer
or partner audiences. If you use universitybased
evaluators, the mechanism may be
their publication of findings.
If appropriate, use the evaluation report to
get recognition of the program’s
accomplishments. Health communication
programs can enhance their credibility with
employers, funding agencies, partners, and
the community by receiving awards from
groups that recognize health programs,
such as the American Medical Writers
Association, the Society for Technical
Communication, the American Public Health
Association, and the National Association of
Government Communicators. A variety of
other opportunities exist, such as topicspecific
awards (e.g., awards for consumer
information on medications from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration) and awards
for specific types of products (e.g., the
International Communication Association’s
awards for the top three papers of the year).
Another way to get recognition is to publish
articles about the program in professional
journals or give a presentation or workshop
at an organization meeting or conference.
120 Assessing Effectiveness and Making Refinements