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actions taken to produce specific outputs from inputs such as funds, technical assistance, and other resources.

hypotheses about factors that could affect the progress or success of an intervention. Achieving results depends on whether or not the assumptions made prove to be true. Incorrect assumptions at any stage can become an obstacle to the validity of the expected result or achieving it.

the status of services and outcome-related measures, such as knowledge, attitudes, norms, behaviors, and conditions before intervention.

the knowledge, organization, and resources needed to perform a function.

a sound judgment deducted from empirical findings or factual statements corresponding to a specific circumstance.

the extent to which a program reaches its intended target population, institution, or geographical area.

the extent to which a program or project has achieved its objectives under normal conditions in a field setting.

a measure of how well inputs (resources such as funds, expertise, and time) are converted into outputs.  This term is also used more specifically in economic evaluation to mean the cost value of producing a given product or service.

the study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why. Epidemiological information is used to plan and evaluate strategies to prevent illness.

the systematic collection of information about program activities, characteristics, and outcomes that determines the merit or worth of a specific program. Evaluation studies provide credible information for use in improving programs, identifying lessons learned, and informing decisions about future resource allocation. An evaluation can use a quantitative approach (e.g., structured or standardized approaches for collecting numeric or categorical data, such as surveys, questionnaires, and checklists, using experimental or quasi-experimental design), a qualitative approach (e.g., semistructured data collection, such as interviews, focus groups, and observation), or a mix of both approaches.

a survey of a representative sample of facilities that generally aims to assess the readiness of all elements required to provide services and other aspects of quality of care (e.g., basic infrastructure, drugs, equipment, test kits, registers, staff trained in the delivery of services). The units of observation are facilities of various types and levels in the same health system. The exact content of the survey can vary, but it typically includes a facility inventory and, sometimes, health worker interviews, client exit interviews, and client-provider observation. Depending on the objective of the survey, both public and private facilities may be included in the sample frame of sites; the Service Provision Assessment is one example. The term “health facility assessment” is sometimes used as a broader term than “facility survey.”  A health facility assessment includes facility surveys, but it also includes facility censuses, such as the World Health Organization’s Service Availability Mapping.

an evaluation intended to improve the performance of a program or project. A formative evaluation is usually undertaken during the design and pretesting of the project or program, but it can also be conducted early in the implementation phase, particularly if implementation activities are not going as expected.

the higher order aims of the program or project, to which the intervention is intended to contribute.

the longer range, cumulative effect of programs over time on what they ultimately aim to change. Often, this effect will be a population-level health outcome, such as a change in HIV infection, morbidity, and mortality. Impacts are rarely, if ever, attributable to a single program, but a program may, with other programs, contribute to impacts on a population.  Impact can also be used in the context of a specific program.  In this case, it implies a much closer link to attribution of the program and a conceptual model underlying it.

a quantitative or qualitative variable that provides simple and reliable means to measure achievement, monitor performance, or to reflect changes connected to an intervention.

learning from experience that is applicable to a generic situation, not just to a specific situation. Generalizations are based on evaluation experiences from programs, projects or policies.

routine tracking and reporting of priority information about a program and its intended outputs and outcomes.

a statement of desired program results. A good objective meets the criteria of being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time based (SMART).

the changes that a program aims to effect on target audiences or populations, such as change in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, skills, behaviors, access to services, policies, and environmental conditions.

 

the basic tracking of variables that have been adopted as measures or “indicators” of the desired program outcomes. Outcome monitoring does not infer causality; changes in outcome could be attributable to multiple factors, not just the program.  With national AIDS programs, outcome monitoring is typically conducted through population-based surveys (representative of the target population, not necessarily the general population) to track whether desired outcomes have been reached; it may also track information directly related to program clients, such as change in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, skills, behaviors, access to services, policies, and environmental conditions.

the degree to which an intervention operates according to specific criteria, standards, or guidelines, or achieves results in accordance with stated plans.

large-scale national health surveys, such as Demographic and Health Surveys. Population-based surveys are statistically representative of their target populations. Usually, surveys that are population based imply representation of the general population of a given age and sex in a given geographic area, but they do not have to be national in scope or even of a large scale. National surveys can also be conducted in such a way so that they are not population based.

a systematic assessment of the means and the ends of some or all stages of a program, including planning, implementation, and outcome, to determine the value of and to improve the program.

a time-bound intervention that consists of a set of planned, interrelated activities aimed at achieving defined outputs. A project usually has a shorter timeframe than a program.

proposals aimed at improving the effectiveness, quality, or efficiency of an intervention that should be linked to findings based on monitoring and evaluation data.

consistency of the data collected through the repeated use of a scientific instrument or a data collection procedure used under the same conditions. Reliability is not the same as data validity; that is, a data collection method may produce consistent data but not measure what is intended to be measured.

a plan that defines the research question, hypotheses to be examined, and the number and type of variables to be studied. It also assesses the relationship between the variables by using well-developed principles of scientific inquiry.

HIV surveillance that is tailored to meet the specific pattern of the epidemic in a country.  It not only tracks HIV prevalence but also uses additional sources of data to increase understanding of trends of the epidemic over time. It includes biological surveillance of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections as well as systematic surveillance of the behaviours that spread them. 

a person, group, or entity that has a role and interest in the goals or objectives and implementation of a program.

the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data regarding a health-related event for use in public health action to reduce morbidity and mortality and to improve health.  These data can help predict future trends and target needed prevention and treatment programs.

groups of people who are to benefit from the result of the intervention.

the extent to which a measurement or test accurately measures what is intended to be measured.