Using bottom-up evaluation to build community practice-based evidence and strengthen community-engaged research

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a critical role in mitigating social problems by creating innovative interventions to address unmet community needs, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. These community-generated interventions are rarely evaluated or recognized within the prev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of community practice 2023-10, Vol.31 (3-4), p.410-428
Main Authors: Fisher, Colleen M., Sangadji, Ritti, Mwangi, Diana Njoki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
AIDS
Community research
Community-engaged research
evaluation
Evidence-based practice
global social work
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Intervention
Low income groups
NGOs
Nongovernmental organizations
Organizational effectiveness
participatory research
Poverty
Program evaluation
Single mothers
Social problems
Social values
Social work research
Well being
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Summary:Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a critical role in mitigating social problems by creating innovative interventions to address unmet community needs, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. These community-generated interventions are rarely evaluated or recognized within the prevention science lexicon that informs evidence-based practice, but bottom-up evaluation (BUE) offers researchers an approach to help reverse this trend. This paper illustrates BUE processes using evaluation of an NGO-created intervention for HIV-positive single mothers in Kenya as a case example. The participatory BUE study involved three phases: (1) viability assessment via qualitative participant interviews; (2) evaluation preparation and NGO capacity-building; and (3) effectiveness evaluation. Qualitative interview data revealed 24 intervention outcomes most impactful to participants' lives and confirmed intervention viability. Participatory mapping identified key program outcomes for inclusion in the evaluation instrument, which was developed collaboratively with program staff. Effectiveness evaluation findings suggest that the intervention improved the health, psychosocial wellbeing, and economic security of single mothers facing the dual challenges of HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty. As illustrated in this study, bottom-up evaluation offers social work researchers an approach that can center voices of intervention participants, build community practice-based evidence, and strengthen community-engaged research in alignment with social work priorities and values.
ISSN:1070-5422
1543-3706
DOI:10.1080/10705422.2023.2276350