Evaluation of a mental health educational project in Burma

In attempting to evaluate a brief course on care of the mentally ill given to health personnel in Burma, experience suggested: (a) that post-course questionnaires asking participants to rate usefulness of the educational experience are useless in evaluation; (b) Assessments of clinical knowledge before and after the course were useful in guiding the teachers and assessing improvement in knowledge; (c) Data on treatment prescriptions given to patients by health personnel before and after the course might be a simple and inexpensive way of assessing impact on health care. Direct measurement of changes in attitudes and improvement of skills in health personnel and of the clinical outcome of patients they treat cannot be done economically and efficiently.