Evaluation Database – General Description
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Why do this?
What are the aims of the Evaluation Database?
Who is the database designed for?
How was and will the information be gathered?
What information has been included?
What are the limitations?
Contact
Health Scotland has developed a database that contains information about public health and health improvement evaluations carried out in Scotland. The records in this database cover both health improvement policy and services.
Why do this?
Considerable knowledge about health improvement policies and services is being constantly generated by all kinds of agencies across Scotland. Unfortunately, though, the potential to build on this knowledge is limited, primarily because of a lack of awareness that such knowledge exists.
Many evaluation reports do not end up in formal information storage facilities. This lost opportunity was also referred to in the recently released report Health Communities: A Shared Challenge, which called for increased accessibility for public health professionals to unpublished evaluations.
A database of evaluations, therefore, makes a contribution to addressing this challenge.
What are the aims of the Evaluation Database?
The two main aims of the database are:
- To develop a system for storing, maintaining and retrieving relevant publicly accessible evaluation information
- To facilitate more detailed knowledge about evaluation work on public health issues in Scotland that is relevant to assessing the policy implementation process, at both national and local level.
Who is the database designed for?
This database is designed with a range of health professional in mind, health planners, managers and others interested in improving policy and services.
How was and will the information be gathered?
A range of sources has been used to gather the reports currently in the database our evaluation contacts, a library search, internet searches, and a request for information Scotland web site. Over time new evaluations will be added as these come to the attention of Health Scotland.
If you have a report that you would like added, please email the details to us.
What information has been included?
The database will include bibliometric data only about reports such as the title, finish/ commissioning and research organisations, costs (if available) and so on.
Reports will be categorised into topic areas. Current topic areas include:
- Early Years
- Workplace
- Communities
- Diet
- Mental Health
- Alcohol
- Tobacco
- Sexual Health
- Health and Homelessness
- Teenage Transitions
- Physical Activity
- Others
Other topics may be added to this at a later date.
What are the limitations?
Data protection laws mean that non-bibliometric information cannot be included without the permission of relevant stakeholders. Given that this task has proven difficult, especially for past reports, Health Scotland has decided not to include this information.
Similarly, reports from other organisations cannot be downloaded on the Health Scotland web-site but web-links have been provided where possible. To overcome this limitation a short list of keywords for each report has been included to give an indication of the content.
Search Tips and Keyword List
Download the following documents for more information:
Search tips for using the Evaluation Database
A List of keywords used in the Evaluation Database
Contact
For further information about the evaluation database please contact:
Bron McDonald
NHS Health Scotland
Tel: 0131 537 4700
email:Bron McDonald
Last updated 10th August 2007