REGIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH TRAINING (OCEAC) - - REPORT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CONSULTANT.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH (U OF PITT) CONTRACT TO ADVISE AND ASSIST OCEAC AND COOPERATING COUNTRIES IN DEVELOPING "A BLUEPRINT FOR LOCAL HEALTH SERVICES" WAS ONLY MARGINALLY SUCCESSFUL. ORIGINAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF PROJECT WERE JUDGED BY EVALUATORS TO BE UNREALISTIC. THESE WERE ALTERED BY MULTIPLE REVISIONS (IN SOME CASES,WIITHOUT THE FULL KNOWLEDGE OF ALL INVOLVED PARTIES), AND TO DATE, NO COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT"S INTENT EXISTS. IN BOTH CAR AND CHAD, THE PROJECT HAS EVOLVED AS THE HEALTH EDUCATION COMPONENT IN A HEALTH SERVICES DEMONSTRATION PROJECT CONDUCTED BY WHO, UNICEF, THE NATIONAL HEALTH MINISTRIES, AND OTHERS. IN CAMEROON, THE ACTIVITY IS BASED ON NURSE TRAINING IN THE OCEAC HEADQUARTERS, WITH A FIELD DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR IN-SERVICE TRAINING OF NURSES. EVALUATOR FOUND OPERATIONS IN CHAD TO BE OF QUESTIONABLE VALUE; OTHER ACTIVITIES JUDGED WORTHY OF CONTINUED SUPPORT IF PROGRAM OBJECTIVES CAN BE CLEARLY DEFINED AND RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEMS RESOLVED EVALUATOR RECOMMENDED TERMINATION OF ACTIVITIES IN CHAD AS SOON AS IS PRACTICAL; REVISION OF EXISTING PROP TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES; AND EXTENSION OF OTHER ACTIVITIES UNTIL 3/30/76 TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL OPERATIONAL YEAR AND A YEAR FOR FINAL EVALUATION. UNIV PITT"S USE TO LARGELY UNTRAINED GRADUATE STUDENTS IN FIELD WORK HAS PUT AN EXTRA WORK LOAD ON FIELD STAFF. IN ADDITION, U OF PITT UNDERESTIMATED TECHNICAL DEMANDS OF PROJECT AND DID NOT PROVIDE REQUIRED EXPERT CONSULTANTS IN THE AREA OF SURVEY DESIGN, SAMPLING, AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. EVALUATOR SUGGESTED A MORITORIUM ON USE OF GRADUATE STUDENTS; REDUCTION OF ON-CAMPUS STAFF BY 50%; PROVISION OF EXPERT CONSULTANTS TO FIELD STAFF; AND PRODUCTION OF QUANTIFIABLE WORK PLANS. EVALUATION HINDERED BY THE LACK OF A CLEAR ADMINISTRATIVE FOCUS CONCERNING PROJECT OBJECTIVES, AS WELL AS BY THE ALMOST TOTAL LACK OF AVAILABLE BASELINE DATA AND THE LACK OF FEEDBACK ON TRAINING MATERIALS.