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Tag: evaluation

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Epi

SVI vs. ADI: What Public Health Practitioners Need to Know Since the CDC Removed SVI

TLDR; SVI and ADI overlap but measure different concepts: vulnerability vs deprivation Public health professionals often rely on composite indices to identify disadvantaged communities and guide interventions. Two prominent tools in this space are the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and the Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Both indices measure socioeconomic and demographic disadvantage, but they were […]

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Commentary

Measuring Equity in an Age of Disinvestment: A Critical Look at IHI’s New Framework

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) 2025 white paper, Advancing Health Equity: An Approach to Systematically Identify and Evaluate Health Disparities, offers a structured, evidence-based pathway for health systems to measure inequities in care. It arrives at a crucial moment. The very concept of “equity” has become politically fraught, and when public health infrastructure itself […]

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Health equity

Are We Measuring Health Equity All Wrong?

Picture this: a city rolls out a new school-based nutrition program. Kids are encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables, teachers add fun lessons on healthy food choices, and the results look great—at least on paper. Test scores tick upward, and obesity rates decline. But dig deeper, and a troubling pattern emerges. The biggest improvements […]

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Research

New Research Reveals 4 Keys to Ethical Scientific Impact

A scientist discovers a promising new way to fight disease. A public health researcher develops a strategy to reduce overdose deaths. They don’t just publish—they advocate. They push their work into the world. But here’s the ethical wrinkle: just because research is well-intentioned doesn’t mean it’s ethically done when it changes lives. We’ve long had […]

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News

Apply Now: TEI Social Betterment Award – $10,000 Grant for Evaluators Driving Social Change

The Evaluators’ Institute (TEI) is excited to announce the TEI Social Betterment Award, a $10,000 grant designed to recognize evaluators who are making a real difference in society. This award honors professionals whose work advances equity, inclusion, collaboration, and innovation—core values that drive meaningful change in communities worldwide. Why This Matters Evaluation plays a crucial […]

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Policy

How Evaluation Criteria Shape(s) Public Policy

When we talk about evaluating public policies, it’s easy to get caught up in the details—measuring success, gathering data, and checking boxes. But how do we actually decide what makes a policy “successful”? That’s where evaluation criteria come in. Evaluation criteria are the standards used to judge the effectiveness, efficiency, and overall value of policies. […]

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Commentary

Using AI to sort through evaluation research

Let’s talk evaluation. I haven’t done a summary of evaluation in a long time, and since we’re dialing up a really big project with our friends at RISE, it’s as good a time as any to see what’s been going on in the evaluation field. I would hypothesize that the ratio of evaluation practitioners to […]

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Commentary

Never require answers to survey questions.

The headline is the thesis statement. Do not require answers to survey questions. That is, never make any answer to any question required for completing a survey. Never. Don’t do it. Here’s why. Humans should not be unwitting subjects in scientific experiments. Yet, our history is cluttered with examples of this. The Tuskeegee Experiment. The […]

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