Ensuring Best Practice in Genomic Education and Evaluation: A Program Logic Approach

Abstract

Targeted genomic education and training of professionals have been identified as core components of strategies and implementation plans for the use of genomics in health care systems. Education needs to be effective and support the sustained and appropriate use of genomics in health care. Evaluation of education programs to identify effectiveness is challenging. Furthermore, those responsible for development and delivery are not necessarily trained in education and/or evaluation. Program logic models have been used to support the development and evaluation of education programs by articulating a logical explanation as to how a program intends to produce the desired outcomes. These are highly relevant to genomic education programs, but do not appear to have been widely used to date. To assist those developing and evaluating genomic education programs, and as a first step towards enabling identification of effective genomic education approaches, we developed a consensus program logic model for genomic education. We drew on existing literature and a co-design process with 24 international genomic education and evaluation experts to develop the model. The general applicability of the model to the development of programs was tested by program convenors across four diverse settings. Conveners reported on the utility and relevance of the logic model across development, delivery and evaluation. As a whole, their feedback suggests that the model is flexible and adaptive across university award programs, competency development and continuing professional development activities. We discuss this program logic model as a potential best practice mechanism for developing genomic education, and to support development of an evaluation framework and consistent standards to evaluate and report genomic education program outcomes and impacts.

Keywords: education; evaluation; genomic medicine; program logic; theory; workforce.

Figure 1

Summary of the Australian Genomics Workforce & Education “Effective Education” program of research.

Figure 2

Program logic model for genomic education interventions. ¹After testing the model in four contexts a stakeholder management plan was added as a Planning stage deliverable. ²Testing also clarified that Project management aspects can span all stages so this component was removed.

Figure 3

Illustration of how the different program logic model components map to the development of clinical genomic workshops for pediatricians. ¹(Herreid, 2005).

Figure 4

Illustration of how the program logic model can be used as a tool for reflection and targeted evaluation for quality improvement. ¹Adult learning theory (Taylor and Hamdy, 2013); ²(Beetham and Sharpe, 2013); ³(Hase, 2009). ⁴The impact evaluation is not proceeding due to low participation.