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. 2024 Oct;44(10):440-449.
doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.44.9.04.

Methods for evaluating intersectoral action partnerships to address the social determinants of health: a scoping review

[Article in English, French]
Roshaany Asirvatham  1 , Allison Nelson  2 , Jonathan Northam  3 , Kelsey Lucyk  3
Affiliations

Methods for evaluating intersectoral action partnerships to address the social determinants of health: a scoping review

[Article in English, French]
Roshaany Asirvatham et al. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2024 Oct.

Abstract
in English, French

Introduction: Many of the social and economic factors that shape conditions for population health and health equity (e.g. income, education and employment) lie outside of the health sector. Intersectoral action (ISA) is pivotal to building diverse partnerships that address these social determinants of health. Despite the significant role of ISA, there are few comprehensive reports from the health sector on how such partnerships are evaluated. The purpose of this scoping review is to provide an overview of examples of ISA partnership evaluations, including the identification of evaluation methods, tools and indicators.

Methods: A literature search of two academic databases, Embase and MEDLINE, identified seven relevant studies published between 2012 and 2022.

Results: Common evaluation approaches were network analysis, community- or system- level analysis, partnership evaluation and longitudinal process evaluation. Five of the studies assessed the strength and functionality of partnerships, with reach (e.g. distance between partners) used most frequently as an indicator.

Conclusion: Despite the complexity of evaluating ISA partnerships, such evaluations are crucial for assessing impacts on health outcomes and social determinants of health, goal achievement, accountability and sustainability. Different evaluation models are available to program planners and evaluators involved in ISA initiatives.

Introduction: Bon nombre des facteurs sociaux et économiques qui conditionnent la santé d’une population et l’équité en matière de santé (comme le revenu, l’éducation et l’emploi) ne sont pas liés au secteur de la santé. L’action intersectorielle est essentielle à la formation de partenariats diversifiés qui visent à agir sur ces déterminants sociaux de la santé. Malgré le rôle important de l’action intersectorielle, on dispose de peu de rapports exhaustifs du secteur de la santé sur la manière dont ces partenariats sont évalués. Cet examen de la portée vise à fournir une vue d’ensemble d’exemples d’évaluations de partenariats d’action intersectorielle, portant sur les méthodes d’évaluation, les outils et les indicateurs.

Méthodologie: ne recherche documentaire menée dans deux bases de données universitaires (Embase et MEDLINE) a permis d’obtenir sept études pertinentes publiées entre 2012 et 2022.

Résultats: Les approches d’évaluation que nous avons observées ont été l’analyse de réseaux, l’analyse à l’échelle des collectivités ou des systèmes, l’évaluation des partenariats et l’évaluation longitudinale des processus. Cinq des études ont évalué la force et la fonctionnalité des partenariats, la portée (distance entre les partenaires) étant l’indicateur le plus fréquemment utilisé.

Conclusion: En dépit de la complexité à évaluer les partenariats d’action intersectorielle, ces évaluations sont essentielles pour mesurer les effets sur les résultats en matière de santé et les déterminants sociaux de la santé, sur l’atteinte des objectifs, sur la reddition de compte et sur la pérennité. Différents modèles d’évaluation sont à la disposition des planificateurs et des évaluateurs de programmes participant aux initiatives d’action intersectorielle.

Keywords: evaluation; intersectoral action; methods; social determinants.

Plain language summary

Intersectoral action is an essential approach to addressing the social determinants of health. However, literature evaluating intersectoral action is limited. Network analysis, system-level analysis, partnership evaluation and longitudinal process evaluation are promising approaches to evaluating intersectoral initiatives. Assessing the reach of intersectoral partners to each other and to the target population is important to understanding the effectiveness of intersectoral partnerships.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

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Figure 1. PRISMA-ScR flow diagram17 of search strategy methods
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