Participatory training evaluation: Steps from the Center for Native American Health Native-CHART symposium

This paper presents a case example of the Native-CHART Training Evaluation and describes the process of planning and administering a paper evaluation during the Native-CHART symposium in November 2019 led by the Center for Native American Health (CNAH) and an external evaluator. Training evaluation methodologies and the data collection instrument were grounded in the Health Belief Model (HBM) where health-related chronic disease and risk factor knowledge translates to perceived susceptibility, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy. Kirkpatrick's Four-level Training Evaluation Model explored learning, reaction, behaviors, and results. The evaluation aims centered around the following questions: 1)Who attended the symposium, and why did they attend? 2)What knowledge did participants gain at the symposium? 3)Will attendees change their behaviors as a result of attending the symposium? 4) What parts of the symposium were most valuable? And 5) How can the symposium be improved? Data collected at the symposium answered these questions. After the Native-CHART symposium, CNAH staff and the external evaluator met to reflect on the steps necessary to plan and implement a participatory training evaluation. From these discussions, eight steps emerged. This paper presents these steps along with recommendations for future work. Participatory and collaborative approaches in training evaluation and the steps included in this case example may be useful to evaluators, communities, and programs working on designing and evaluating various trainings with Tribal populations.