A Process for Identifying Indicators With Public Data: An Example From Sexual Violence Prevention

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Program Evaluation
• Sociology

Background:

• Sexual violence (SV) prevention efforts face challenges in measuring strategy impact.
• Publicly available data offers a potential resource for program evaluation.
• Existing administrative and surveillance data can reveal trends in SV indicators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a framework and process for identifying indicators using public data.
• To describe the application of the SV Indicator Framework and a five-step review process.
• To guide evaluators and program planners in developing topic areas.

Main Methods:

• Developed the Sexual Violence Indicator Framework.
• Implemented a five-step indicator review process.
• Applied the process to identify indicators for a national SV prevention program.

Main Results:

• Successfully identified indicators for a national SV prevention program using public data.
• Demonstrated a viable process for selecting indicators from administrative and surveillance data.
• Findings highlight the utility of public data for tracking SV prevention trends.

Conclusions:

• Tracking indicators with public data is a viable option for state-level program evaluations.
• The described framework and process can be adapted for other developing topic areas.
• Integrating public data tracking with other evaluation methods enhances program assessment.