Meta-evaluation of studies on community physical activity programs in Brazil

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Promotion
• Program Evaluation

Background:

• Meta-evaluation is underutilized in health promotion program assessment.
• This study addresses the scarcity of meta-evaluative practices in this field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess if evaluations of the Academia da Cidade Programme and Academia da Saúde Programme adhere to meta-evaluation principles.
• To apply established meta-evaluation standards to existing program evaluations.

Main Methods:

• A meta-evaluation was conducted on 18 selected scientific articles.
• Utilized parameters of utility, propriety, accuracy, and specificity based on Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation.
• Employed Stufflebeam's checklist for study classification.

Main Results:

• Utility principle was fully met in 50% of studies; 27.8% rated 'very good'.
• Propriety principle predominantly rated 'very good' (44.4%) and 'excellent' (38.9%).
• Accuracy principle rated 'excellent' in 44.4% and 'very good' in 33.3%; specificity rated 'very good' in 94.4%.

Conclusions:

• Evaluations of physical activity community programs align with meta-evaluation principles and standards.
• Most evaluated programs demonstrated excellent utility and accuracy, and very good propriety and specificity.