Epilogue: Lessons Learned About Evaluating Health Communication Programs

Systematic evaluation research is needed to develop, implement, refine, and sustain effective health communication programs. Yet, evaluation research is not always well integrated into health communication intervention activities or even budgeted as part of health promotion efforts. If included in health promotion programs, evaluation research is often conducted superficially, after the fact, and does not provide the strategic information needed to make sure that health communication programs achieve their important goals. To rectify this problem, it is important to reassert and institutionalize the value of evaluation research in health promotion efforts. It is important to mandate that all major health communication programs are guided by robust evaluation research data. It is also important to help health promotion experts to conduct rigorous and revealing evaluation research as well as help them use evaluation research data to guide the development, refinement, and implementation of health communication programs. This Epilogue to this special section on Evaluating Health Communication Programs presents specific propositions that charts the course for using evaluation research to promote public health and recommends next steps for achieving this goal.