Each has its own story and lessons to learn. Here we share with you one such story, the development of Children's Health Education Center's Stressing Life adult program. Stressing Life is a wonderful example of how good adult programming can be. The program explores a timely topic with serious health consequences and offers useful information to improve participants' overall life satisfaction. We hope our experiences will be a benefit to you as you create your own successful adult programs.
Every good program begins with a great topic.
During the planning evaluation phase, it is important to first consider the need to be addressed, the outcomes or what you want your audience to take away from the learning experience, and the expected benefits and costs of your proposed program. There are a number of acceptable methods to assess needs. To get a complete picture from many sources and viewpoints, it is best to use multiple assessment methods, such as a quantitative study using a small-sample telephone interview, review of relevant literature and focus groups. CHEC hired Monalco Inc., a market research firm, to conduct an adult program needs assessment. Their process included scheduling key informant interviews with those very familiar with adult health in Milwaukee.