Researching and EvaluatingModel Geriatric M ental Health Programs, Part I: Design of Mental Health Evaluation Studies Daniel W. Russell and Kathleen C. Buckwalter zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWV The first article in thii three-part series on researching and evaluating geriatric mental health programs focuses on issues related to the design of studies for summatfve evaluations of geriatric mental health programs. Experimental and quasi-experimental designs are discussed in terms of their advantages and dis- advantages, and threats to internal validity are highlighted. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJ Copyright 0 1991 by zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA W.B. Saunders Company zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIH I N RECENT YEARS, increasing attention has been given to the mental health problems of the elderly (Task Panel on the Elderly, 1978). One reason for this focus on the elderly has been the recognition that the mental health needs of the aged have not been adequately addressed by the existing service delivery system. As a result, ger- opsychiatric nurses, together with colleagues in medicine and social service providers, have pro- posed or developed a number of innovative pro- grams designed to provide services to elderly who are in need of care. Practitioner-proponents of these model pro- grams would like to convince legislators and other policy makers, external funding sources, and jour- nal editors, among others, that such programs are effective in meeting the mental health needs of the elderly. In such an advocacy effort, it is crucial that the model programs be well-designed and im- plemented. Careful evaluation of program effec- tiveness is also essential. The authors have been on numerous review panels where potentially effec- tive innovative ideas never receive funding, do not come to fruition, or are discontinued because of inadequate attention to methodological and evalu- ative issues. Thus, even though a particular pro- gram may be efficacious in delivering mental health services to the elderly, in the absence of well-designed evaluation studies it may not be pos- sible to document program effectiveness and con- vince funding agencies, publishers, and legislators or other policy makers that the program is valu- able. The purpose of this three-part series on research- ing and evaluating model geriatric mental health programs is to describe several important issues that psychiatric nurses should consider in design- ing evaluations of model mental health programs. Since each program is unique, it is not possible to present a cookbook approach to evaluation that will be relevant across all settings. And, although this and subsequent articles will focus on geriatric mental health programs, the three areas described must be addressed in developing an evaluation of any model mental health program. The areas high- lighted in this three-part series include: the design of the evaluation study (part I), the way in which the outcomes of the program are measured (part II), and statistical analysis of the data (part III). PART I: DESIGN OF MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION STUDIES A first issue to consider when designing a pro- gram evaluation concerns the purpose of the eval- From the College of Medicine and the College of Nurs- ing. University of Iowa, Iowa City. Address reprint requests to Kathleen C. Buckwalter. Ph.D., R.N., College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, /A 52242. Copyright 0 1991 by W.B. Saunders Company 0883.9417l9llO501-0002$3.OOlO Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Vol. V, No. 1 (February). 1991: pp. 3-9 3