Structural evaluation of the implementation of the Psychosocial Intervention Program for Victims of the armed conflict in Colombia (PAPSIVI)

Summary:  View help for Summary The (social) intervention programs are the instrument that allows the implementation of Public Policies. Empirical evidence shows that implementation is one of the most important challenges to ensure the effectiveness of intervention projects (i.e., Spoth et al., 2013). The planned intervention cycle consists of designing strategies that allows verifying compliance with the objectives formulated in the program during the stages that make up the process (Wandersman, Imm, Chinman, & Kaftarian, 2000). This involves elements of (a) measurement, (b) the evaluation systems and (c) the indicators that make it possible to verify that the initiatives that constitute the program's action plan have the capacity to meet the demand that justify the intervention (Fetterman, 1994). Based on this antecedents, in the research project described in this document we focus on examining the determining role that the implementation process plays in the planned intervention cycle. In the Department of Córdoba (Colombia), the PAPSIVI Program has been implemented since 2013, for its acronym Program for Psychosocial Care and Comprehensive Health for Victims of Conflict (https://www.minsalud.gov.co/proteccionsocial/Paginas/Victimas_PAPSIVI.aspx ). This initiative has the legislative protection of Law 1448 on reparation of victims that establishes the creation of PAPSIVI as a mechanism to guarantee the psychosocial well-being of people who have been victims of some kind of violence derived from the armed conflict since 1985. Only in the 30 municipalities that make up the Department of Córdoba, the program plans to attend in 2016 to 9780 people. Although the program depends institutionally on the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the powers related to the application of the program in the Departments are decentralized, with the Ministry of Health Development of the Government of Córdoba being the agency responsible for implementing the program in this region. Through the program, psychosocial care is provided at the individual, family and community level. The team of professionals responsible for implementing the program is composed by Psychologists (n = 26), Social Workers (n = 26), Community Promoters (n = 13), a nurse, a doctor and half a dozen of people who are part of the program coordination and administration staff. In practice, psychosocial care is provided by teams of professionals made up of one or two psychologists, a social worker and a promoter serving one or more municipalities. In this context, analyze the relationships that exist between (i) the different professionals participating in the program; (ii) healthcare teams that serve different municipalities; and (c) the teams of professionals and the coordination of PAPSIVI, is an essential factor to guarantee the achievement of the goals set in the formulation of the project. At the same time it is necessary to know the effect that the internal work dynamics within the group of professionals exert on the indicators of effectiveness of the program (ie, level of social cohesion, work environment, psychological empowerment and sense of belonging to the organization) . Due to the vital role played by coordination and connections between work teams in the results of the actions, it is necessary to systematically analyze how the relational component affects the program effectiveness. Therefore, this project focuses on the empirical evaluation how different types of relationships that occur between teams of socio-health professionals (eg, exchange of technical information, referral of users or sharing good intervention practices) affect the program implementation (Valente., Palinkas, Czaja, Chu, & Brown, 2015).

Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo y la Innovación (203-01/17/G-003)

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms process evaluation; structural evaluation; social network analysis; implementation

Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Colombian Caribbean region

Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 9/10/2016 – 11/30/2018

Collection Date(s):  View help for Collection Date(s) 10/30/2016 – 12/15/2017

Universe:  View help for Universe All the implementers of the Psychosocial Intervention Program for war victims (PAPSIVI) in the Department of Cordoba (Colombian Caribbean region)

Data Source:  View help for Data Source The implementers of the program and the coordination staff.

Scales:  View help for Scales The questionnaire includes socio-demographic variables and indicators related to the time that the professionals have been working in the program, the characteristics of the service provided, and the number of municipalities served. It also incorporates open- and closed-ended questions to learn the potential advantages and disadvantages associated with coordination activities, information exchange, and user referral (Provan et al., 2003). 

Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation Multidisciplinary ntervention teams