Rural and Remote Health

rrh.org.au
James Cook University ISSN 1445-6354

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Lessons for health program monitoring and evaluation in a low resource setting

AUTHORS

Emma Field1 Master of Applied Epidemiology, Epidemiologist *

Mafu Vila2 Diploma in Health Service Management, Health Information Officer

Laina Runk3 Master of International Public Health, Data Manager

Fiona Mactaggart4 Master of the Control of Infectious Diseases, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager

Alexander Rosewell5 PhD, Senior Lecturer

Sally Nathan6 PhD, Senior Lecturer

AFFILIATIONS

1 Menzies School of Health Research, Spring Hill QLD 4000, Australia; and Abt Associates, Level 2, 5 Gardner Close Milton, Brisbane, QLD 4064, Australia; and UNSW Australia, Botany Street UNSW Kensington Campus, Australia

2 Abt Associates, Papua New Guinea Governance Facility, Level 1, Ravalian Haus, Harbour City, Port Moresby, P. O. Box 591, Waterfront 125, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea

3, 4 Abt Associates, Level 2, 5 Gardner Close Milton, Brisbane, QLD 4064, Australia

5, 6 UNSW Australia, Botany Street UNSW Kensington Campus, Australia

ACCEPTED: 8 June 2018


early abstract:

There are numerous guidelines that outline best practices for health program monitoring and evaluation (M&E). However health programs are often implemented in less than ideal circumstances where these best practices may not be resourced or feasible. This paper describes how M&E has been conducted for a health service delivery improvement program in remote Papua New Guinea and outlines lessons learned. The lessons were: integrate M&E into every aspect of the program; strengthen existing health information data; link primary data collection with existing program activities; conduct regular monitoring and feedback for early identification of implementation issues; involve the program team in evaluation; and communicate M&E data through multiple mediums to stakeholders. These lessons could be applied to other health programs implemented in low resource settings.