Development of a Theoretical Framework for Program Evaluation of the Impact of Policy, Systems, and Environmental...

As community nutrition education programs have expanded to include policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) initiatives to increase access to nutritious food and safe physical activity, the impact of these efforts on the consumption of healthier foods and physical activity levels is not clear. Research shows the effectiveness of PSE changes on individual-level behavior in controlled environments and in other public health disciplines. However, more evidence and guidance is needed to show the impact of PSE interventions in practice on individual-level nutrition and physical activity behaviors. The PSE Intervention and Evaluation Framework (PSE-IEF) was developed to explain the process by which implemented PSE activities may result in behavior changes within the priority audience.

Framework development involved a review and Theory of Change mapping process of a list of PSE changes used in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program- Education (SNAP-Ed) Program, an environmental literature scan to identify relevant theories and related factors, and an expert review. The environmental scan examined how PSE changes are conceptualized as drivers of behavior change and how their impacts are measured at the individual level. Sources were identified through database searches, grey literature review, and citation tracking, with inclusion limited to U.S.-based, English-language documents published in the past 10 years. Twelve frameworks or theories were reviewed for their focus on individual behavior, ability to capture behavior change over time, and recognition of individual choice in when or whether change occurs. The PSE changes theory of change mapping results were reviewed for alignment with the selected framework and applied to a logic model for PSE implementers. Forty-five practitioners reviewed the framework for relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility, with revisions made iteratively until no substantial changes to structure or content were received.

The final PSE-IEF describes how PSE programs are implemented at the organizational level and how they might impact the target audience at the individual level. To see outcomes at the individual level, organizational level activities must be completed, including staff awareness, engagement, action and maintenance activities to produce PSE outputs available for target audience use. Precaution Adoption Process Model stages of awareness, engagement, decision, action, and maintenance describe the responses at both the organizational and individual level over time.

The resultant framework can be used to guide PSE intervention and evaluation in community-based programs and to increase the evidence base illustrating the impact of PSE interventions on individual behavior and health.