Local and national uses of a Road to Recovery evaluation

Evaluation fellows from the George Washington University School of Public H ealth Services conducted an evaluation of the Road to Recovery program of t he Mid-Atlantic division og the American Cancer Society. The evaluation inc lined qualitative analysis of program operation, mailed surveys, in-depth i nterviews with patients and drivers, and interviews with social workers fro m treatment centers. Results indicated that patients and drivers were satis fied with the program. Patients appreciated the ability of drivers to provi de personalised, reliable service. The recruitment of sufficient drivers to meet transportation demand was a problem. High staff turnover ans a lack o f electronic tracking of standard information hindered program monitoring. A Mid-Atlantic Advisory Transportation Group reviewed the findings and made recommendations for service improvement. The Mid-Atlantic division evaluat ion contributed to an "evaluation synthesis" in which participants from the three divisions that bad conducted Road to Recovery evaluations examined s tudy data and made recommendations for reorganising the national transporta tion program. A Transportation Program Design Team then held fact-finding m eetings and adopted goals and objectives for a new national transportation program. The primary lesson learned was the far-reaching effects that a sin gle program evaluation may have for various stakeholders and for an organiz ation.