ICSHC Evaluation Framework

Illinois Coalition for School Health Centers (ICSHC)

 

Evaluation Framework

 

ICSHC launched a pilot in three Chicago area high schools to determine the impact SHCs have on academic outcomes.   Results are currently being analyzed of Phase One of the pilot – making the link between SHCs and health status. 

 

Prior to the pilot, the first step was to establish an evaluation model that can be used to evaluate the impact of school-based health centers across the state.  The multidimensionality and interrelationships of the outcomes under investigation required that this model be comprehensive.  Current research offers very little in the form of an established conceptual model that connects the outcomes that are the target of study. Therefore, documenting a conceptual model and framework to integrate the multitude of outcomes that school health centers impact is the only way to begin to establish their contribution to the broader educational environment. The model has been informally presented to various scholarly groups, and has been very well received.   It is the hope that this tool not only helps support the evaluation process of SBHCs in Illinois, but allows helps to guide national research.

In the pilot, we also conducted an aggregate study of whether the presence of a SHC in a school improved the academic success of the school, as compared to similar schools in Chicago.  Results are currently being compiled.

For more information on this evaluation pilot, please contact Divya Mohan Little.