Tennessee Tobacco Program History
Overview of Program Evaluation 2014-16/7
The Tennessee General Assembly appropriated $15 million to the Tennessee Department of Health for three fiscal years (2014-2016). The Tennessee Tobacco Settlement demonstrated the effectiveness of public health departments to conduct and enhance partnerships for primary prevention projects to reduce targeted tobacco use issues in all of Tennessee’s 95 counties. The program also demonstrated extensive use of performance improvement principles and practice included the Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award adopted by the Department in 2012.
The multiyear time frame for the program allowed TDH to employ a mix of evaluation methods. This web site includes files which document the evaluation of the program:
- Longitudinal evaluation of program impact on three selected statewide population health measures
- Summative evaluation reports completed by each county health departments of their goals, investments and outcomes
- Process evaluation emphasizing use of data and professional development for collective process improvement
Credit for this evaluation and reports is due to the cooperation of representatives of county health departments and regional offices who, using a modified focus group approach, analyzed extensive data and interim reports to document their collective success.