Perceptions of Evaluator Competencies in Public Health

Abstract

Abstract Public health is a profession that typically provides services through government and is complex, expensive, and often political. The public health profession usually consists of professionals, such as nurses and health educators. Evaluation is a component of public health services and is often conducted to demonstrate the value of a program’s services. The evaluation field exists as its own practice that also has professionals, competencies, and ethics. Evaluation in public health may be conducted by public health staff or may be contracted to another party. It is important that evaluations of public health programs be conducted with rigor and expertise because of the potential impact to society and the magnitude of costs if they are not. The purpose of this study was to find out what public health professionals think are the most important competencies for those who conduct evaluations for public health programs. The methodology of qualitative inquiry included focus groups of public health professionals in Minnesota with oversight of evaluators and evaluation. The methodology of quantitative inquiry consisted of an electronic survey of members of the Minnesota Public Health Association. Results of this study show varying opinions of what is most important in public health evaluator competency traits and that all are important. The results have implications for public health practice and future research of evaluator competencies.