Activities and Methods
Deliverable 1: Evaluation Plan – Climb Out of the Darkness Georgia
The first project of completion was the evaluation plan. This project was to create an evaluation plan for the Climb out of the Darkness Georgia fundraising event. The evaluation plan consists of a process, outcome, and impact evaluation. The evaluation plan will guide PSI-GA to identify areas requiring changes within the fundraiser to attract the target population for future climbs. The evaluation additionally focuses on the long-term impact that the upgrades are producing each year and includes a guide for an annual summary to ensure that implementation was successful and followed the outlined objectives and that the desired outcome was achieved. Four goals and corresponding objectives were created for the Climb out of the Darkness event within the evaluation plan. A logic model and an evaluation timeline chart (see appendix F in the evaluation plan) were created to guide the evaluation through the process, outcome, and impact stages.
The Climb out of the Darkness event is a fundraiser held during summer. This fundraiser helps to support scholarships to train providers across the state of Georgia in perinatal mental health and support families across Georgia in PSI-GA programs. Each Climb is held in a different county within Georgia with a leader and a co-leader who plan and manage the fundraiser in the county or area of their choosing. There can be an infinite number of climbs across the state held by anyone who wants to participate in the fundraising event. Initially, two surveys were created; a stakeholders and leaders survey for each climb event across Georgia (see appendix D) and a participant survey (see appendix C). The stakeholder survey (see appendix C) was designed to understand the standpoint of the leaders and co-leaders of each Climb. The survey inquired about the location of each climb, community capacities, challenges in gaining participation, barriers to participation, and levels of support received from PSI-GA and PSI Central. The participant survey was created next to engage with all those who participated in the climb event. The survey inquired about their satisfaction with the event, the quality of the content, its usefulness to the community, and suggestions for incorporation into next year's event.
The evaluation plan had a significant limitation regarding the corresponding evaluation report. The creation of the surveys was completed over about three weeks. After the completion, the surveys were sent out via email. Unfortunately, there were so few responses at the time that there needed to be more data to create an evaluation report. The current program coordinator during the Climb of 2022, Mrs. Kim Harris, had to depart for maternity leave shortly after the completion of the Climb as well. Subsequently, the PSI-GA board decided to forgo the evaluation report this year and utilize a different route for survey administration the following year. They decided to send the surveys at the beginning of the Climb season when they open registration. There will be an accessible link to complete the survey for each person. They can select the link for participant or leader and stakeholder at the time of their registration. The information will then be utilized by the program coordinators for changes and additions during the yearly evaluations in correspondence with the evaluation plan.
Once the decision to adjust the surveys and the report was determined, I began working on the evaluation plan. I started the research utilizing the PSI-GA google docs folder on their past climbs. This information was used to give the basis and background for the evaluation. During the first three weeks, I met with the Mind the Gap committee to sit in on discussions about closing the socioeconomic gap for mothers and families with perinatal mental health needs and the maternal oral health advisory group and their focus on better oral health care for mothers during the perinatal period. Participation in these meetings aided me in establishing the goals and objectives for the Climb Out of the Darkness events. Over the eight weeks, many revisions were made to the project instruments' design, content, and utilization. These revisions were accomplished during meetings with the program coordinator, and discussions were held weekly regarding draft submissions of material for the evaluation. Evaluation instruments consisted of the participant survey (appendix D), stakeholder survey (appendix E), community engagement survey (see appendix D in evaluation plan appendix F), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (see appendix E in evaluation plan appendix F), and the PHQ-9 scale (see appendix E in evaluation plan appendix F). The evaluation instruments created effective evaluation methods, including process, outcome, and impact evaluation.
Results
Process Evaluation. A process evaluation aims to determine if the program or initiative has been implemented as planned (Limbani et al., 2019). This is accomplished through the collection and analysis of data. The following evaluation methods will be used for future evaluation reports.
Fidelity. Fidelity measures the quality of the program's implementation according to the plan (Saunders et al., 2005). For the Climb Out of the Darkness event, the program coordinator, climb leaders, and staff will measure the fidelity consistent with participant registration, marketing, fundraising, and management of climb events.
Reach. Reach is defined as how many intended individuals participated in the program and if any barriers could hinder participation (Saunders et al., 2005). Space will be determined by the participant's responses to the survey and registration data. The focus will be to identify positive changes in the number of participants from previous years compared to the evaluation year registration.
Dose Delivered. The dose delivered is the amount of engagement exhibited by the participants and the level of completeness the participants felt with the event. For future evaluation reporting, the quantity supplied will be measured through participant and stakeholder survey data compared with data from the PSI Central office for Climbs nationwide.
Dose Received (Exposure). The dose received exposure refers to how the participants are engaged, utilize the services provided, interact within the program, and are receptive (Saunders et al., 2005). The dose received exposure will also be measured via the participant survey's input data and the usage recorded from the support groups and provider referrals.
Dose Received (Satisfaction). The dose received satisfaction is measured by the participant’s satisfaction with the event and staff (Saunders et al., 2005). The amount of received satisfaction will be measured by participant surveys and self-reporting periodically from event staff and leaders
Recruitment. Recruitment refers to the methods used to attract participants to the program and consistent analysis of involvement by the participant (Saunders et al., 2005). Recruitment for the Climb will consist of marketing on social media platforms and the PSI-GA portal. It will also consist of prior climbs and community leaders marketing within the city or community hosting the climb.
Outcome Evaluation. The outcome evaluation will aim to answer the proposed research questions. It will also assess community participation, mental health awareness, scholarships, and mental health training for providers after each event yearly.
Impact Evaluation. The impact evaluation will assess the changes implemented in the event and help determine if the program functioned as planned and how well it worked.
Activities and Methods
Deliverable 2: Social media Posts – Communications
The second project of completion was a communications piece for social media posts. The communication and logistics via social media platforms are to provide updated information on the PSI-GA Facebook page and their Instagram account concerning informational facts, motivational messages, and other resources for mothers and families. The social media posts included resources for seeking help, motivational messages, educational information on postpartum depression, available resources such as providers and support groups, and coping mechanisms for stress relief and physical activity after delivery. The information included on the social media platform will aid in delivering helpful information to organizations, participants, and families who need assistance.
The second deliverable began with a meeting between myself, Mrs. Kim Harris, and the new communications lead, Lawrence Burgess, MPH. During the meeting sessions, Mr. Burgess proposed several avenues he would like to explore when working to reestablish the social media platforms for PSI-GA. I ultimately decided to work on two areas for social media posts. Motivational Mondays and Fun Fact Fridays. These are the initial areas that PSI-GA would focus on to garner attention and increase platform traction. While building these areas, Mr. Burgess requested that I include information that would be relative and create postings with eye-catching graphic designs and attract the readers of the target population. The goal is to focus on uplifting motivation for moms and families, exercise suggestions, information on PSI-GA, and where to access additional care resources on the chapter website. The research utilized Google, Pinterest, Healthy People 2030, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, Georgia Birth Advocacy Coalition, and PSI Central Department.
Over four weeks, I created twenty-four posts, twelve Motivational Mondays (see appendix B), and twelve Fun Fact Fridays (Appendix C). This will equivalate to twelve weeks of posts with two posts per week. Canva online design studio was used to design the social media posts and saved them under the PSI-GA Canva account for future use. Due to the communications department of PSI-GA changing management, Mr. Burgess and Amanda Gorman, program coordinator, informed me that the social media post deliverable would be saved for a future date as the platforms are renovating.
Results
One hundred twenty-three hours went into creating and completing the social media posts project. This time was spent between research, creative design, revisions and eliminations, and additional guidance from Mr. Burgess and Amanda Gorman of PSI-GA. The materials are for the benefit of the PSI-GA chapter and organizers and facilitators of the climb. It is expected to aid in the successful planning and implementation of subsequent advancements so that they better serve the program each year and build success within the target population. The final deliverable accumulated in twelve Motivational Monday posts and twelve Fun Fact Friday posts (see appendix B and C). with high graphics and relevant information for the target service population.