Challenges in Program Evaluation of Health Interventions in Developing Countries

Health interventions that are effective in developed countries may not be as effective in developing countries given the differing social, economic, cultural, and infrastructure factors that may affect how an intervention program is implemented and its outcomes. However, rigorous evaluation of public health intervention programs in various resource-limited settings is needed to determine which interventions will work most effectively and to spend scarce resources wisely. This monograph is intended to promote an understanding of why program evaluation is a critical component of any health intervention and to stimulate discussion on ways to make evaluation of health interventions in developing countries more rigorous. The authors provide an overview of various approaches, methodologies, and issues related to program evaluation for health projects in developing countries, and they identify future research and actions by funding organizations that would facilitate evaluations of the impact of large-scale health interventions.