Sa. Mcgraw et al., DESIGN OF PROCESS EVALUATION WITHIN THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT TRIAL FOR CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH (CATCH), Health education quarterly, 1994, pp. 190000005-190000026
Process evaluation complements outcome evaluation by providing data to
describe how a program was implemented, how well the activities deliv
ered fit the original design, to whom services were delivered, the ext
ent to which the target population was reached, and factors external t
o the program that may compete with the program effects. The process e
valuation system used in the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovasc
ular Health (CATCH) is presented in this paper. The conceptual model u
nderlying the CATCH process evaluation system is described, and proces
s measures and data collection protocols are reviewed. Functions of pr
ocess evaluation data in the trial include: (1) describing the impleme
ntation of the program, (2) quality control and monitoring, and (3) ex
plaining program effects. The importance of incorporating process eval
uation into final outcome analyses and assessments of program impact i
s emphasized.