An evaluation case study of village-based relational community engagement activities in Lao PDR

Community engagement activities have rapidly gained recognition in global health policy, but comprehensive evaluations remain scarce. This article exemplifies the use of explicit evaluation criteria within a mixed-method and theory-guided evaluation, applied to village-based community engagement activities of a nationwide health Initiative in Lao PDR. The evaluation case study was one element in a multi-pronged evaluation approach and considered the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, impact, relevance, coherence, sustainability, and equity. We gathered qualitative and quantitative data before and at least three months after the village-based activities, focusing on 14 case study communities across four provinces who participated in the Initiative. 3,161 survey observations, 50 semi-structured interviews, and 50 key informant interviews were collected. The Initiative was highly relevant and integrated seamlessly and synergistically into healthcare operations, creating important synergies through its relational and positive approach. Supported by enthusiastic stakeholder support, the Initiative aligned with its intentions to promote health equity while no major negative unintended side-effects materialized. This case study demonstrates the value of rapid feedback of and adaptation to emerging evaluation insights, the appreciation of unintended side-effects of interventions, and the theoretical grounding of evaluation approaches with a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria.