Introduction to Program Evaluation for Public Health Programs: A
Self-Study Guide This document is a “how to” guide for planning
and implementing evaluation activities. The manual, based on
CDC’s Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health, is
intended to assist managers and staff of public, private, and
community public health programs to plan, design, implement and
use comprehensive evaluations in a practical way. The strategy
presented in this manual will help assure that evaluations meet
the diverse needs of internal and external stakeholders. Such
needs include assessing and documenting program implementation,
outcomes, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of activities, and
taking action based on evaluation results to increase the impact
of programs. Why Evaluate Public Health Programs? Public health
programs aim to prevent or control disease, injury, disability
and death. Over time, as this task has become more complex,
programs themselves have become more complex. Increasingly,
public health progra