Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is an inclusive community development strategy implemented for and by people with disabilities in resource-poor areas. The scarcity of guidelines for CBR program evaluation largely contributes to its insufficient and fragmented evidence base. This thesis aimed to advance knowledge in this field by defining best evaluative practices in CBR and developing guidelines to foster sound CBR program evaluation. To achieve this, the doctoral candidate designed a sequential mixed methods study in three research phases: 1) a systematic literature review to identify potential best practice guidelines, 2) a field study in South Africa to pilot the guidelines, and 3) a Delphi study to generate expert consensus and refine the guidelines. Findings from this doctoral research emphasize the importance of giving a voice and control to those most affected by the program throughout the evaluation process, including people with disabilities. The findings also call for embracing the challenge of diversity by adapting CBR program evaluation to local cultures and languages, and by ensuring that programs leave no one behind. In addition, they indicate that CBR evaluators can foster the use of process and findings by endorsing a rigourous, collaborative and empowering approach. Ten best practice guidelines for CBR program evaluation were systematically developed through the three phases and represent expert consensus. They offer much-needed directions. Three represent features of sound CBR program evaluation processes, six offer indications to facilitate sound methodological decisions, and one recommends using a common framework to situate evaluation findings. The guidelines now need to be piloted in a range of CBR contexts and linked with tools to yield the valid and reliable data necessary to establishing CBR’s evidence base and ensuring that program evaluations lead to positive change in local communities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/32456 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Grandisson, Marie |
| Contributors | Thibeault, Rachel, Hébert, Michèle |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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