Program Planning and Evaluation – SPHA 553
In today’s complex health care environment, decision-makers need to understand how best to allocate resources. Using tools for program planning and evaluation leads to better decisions that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of health care services, and ultimately better outcomes for patients.
SPHA 553 (Year two) is a graduate-level course to prepare health system leaders to promote and use evaluation in planning and decision-making. The goal of this course is to introduce learners to the major activities and processes involved in planning and evaluating health services program. Topics will include the basic elements of program planning and evaluation, building logic models, evaluation standards, and evaluator competencies. By the end of the course, students will be able to describe a variety of approaches and tools used in program planning and evaluation.
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Instructor Profile
Dr. Beth Snow earned a B.Sc. (Hons) in Biochemistry (with a minor in Drama) from McMaster University in 1999, a M.Sc. in Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Guelph in 2000, a PhD in Human Nutrition from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2006, and her MBA from the UBC Sauder School of Business in 2014. She also holds a Credentialed Evaluator (CE) designation from the Canadian Evaluation Society, and is the Program Evaluation Lead for the Clinical and Systems Transformation Project. Her previous roles include: running a transdisciplinary research training program in gender, mental health, and addictions at the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and five years as the Evaluation Specialist in Public Health at Fraser Health. She has taught at UBC, Simon Fraser University, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
Dr. Snow’s work focuses on bridging the gap between research and evaluation evidence and health services delivery, with a strong interest in equity. She co-authored the textbook Essentials of Nutrition: A Functional Approach, and led the creation of a model of engaging marginalized populations in health services planning.