摘要：Objective: Convincing evidence of the effectiveness of health information outreach projects is essential to ensure their continuity. This paper reviews the current state of health information outreach evaluation, characterizes strengths and weaknesses in projects' ability to measure their impact, and assesses enablers of and barriers to projects' success. It also relates the projects' characteristics to evaluation practices. The paper then makes recommendations for strengthening evaluation. Methods: Upon conducting a literature search, the authors identified thirty-three articles describing consumer health information outreach programs, published between 2000 and 2010. We then analyzed the outreach projects with respect to their goals and characteristics, evaluation methods and measures, and reported outcomes. Results: The results uncovered great variation in the quality of evaluation methods, outcome measures, and reporting. Outcome measures did not always match project objectives; few quantitative measures employed pretests or reported statistical significance; and institutional change was not measured in a structured way. While papers reported successful outcomes, greater rigor in measuring and documenting outcomes would be helpful. Conclusion: Planning outcome evaluation carefully and conducting research into mediators between health information and behavior will strengthen the ability to identify best practices and develop a theoretical framework and practical guidance for health information outreach. Highlights The quality of outreach evaluation and the reporting of results vary tremendously. These limitations make it impossible to develop a description of best practices for successful outreach. Few studies are theory based, and few qualitative studies employ systematic methods of analysis. Few quantitative studies employ pretest-posttest design, test for statistical significance, and measure long-term outcomes or impact. Implications Community organizations must carefully plan outcome evaluation to ensure continued funding for these types of projects. In addition, it is preferable that evaluations be grounded in a theoretical framework and community needs assessment. Funding agencies can help improve evaluations by providing clearer reporting requirements and additional training and logistical support. Outreach projects should move toward improving overall health literacy by targeting related skills and assessing their development in the course of outreach and training. Academic researchers can help community organizations by isolating health information–related factors that contribute to long-lasting behavioral change.
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