Evaluation and measurement: some dilemmas for health education

Abstract

Seven dilemmas of evaluation and measurement posed by the nature of health education are presented, together with suggestions for their resolution. These include the dilemmas of : 1) rigor of experimental design vs significance or program adaptability; 2) internal validity or "true" effectiveness vs external validity or feasibility; 3) experimental vs placebo effectsl 4) effectiveness vs economy of scale; 5) risk vs payoff; 6) measurement of long-term vs short-term out-comon. Emphasis is placed on the need to develop a more cumulative data base through standardization of measures, replication of experiments in different settings, and better documentation, reporting, and diffusion of experiences in practice.