Developing culturally competent evaluation tools with tobacco control program practitioners

Aiming to develop a utilization-focused evaluation approach, this article presents the process of developing culturally competent evaluation guidelines for Tobacco Control programs with American Indian/Alaska Natives, African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanic/Latinos, LGBT, low-socioeconomic status populations, and rural populations. Through literature reviews and an interactive process that engages tobacco control program practitioners throughout the state of California, a UC Davis evaluation center developed a series of culture-specific guidelines for use in process and outcome evaluations. The norm change approach of the California Department of Public Health is contrasted with the norms of the priority populations it serves to determine why these populations are less responsive to the strategy than mainstream populations and points to ways in which evaluation activities can contribute to achieving greater inclusion of minority populations in tobacco control program efforts.