Evaluation of the Impact of the National Area Health Education Center Program. Executive Summary

摘要

The evaluation examined the National Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program as it has operated since program inception in the early 1970s. The study encompassed 34 of the 38 projects which received federal funding spanning three generations of projects functioning under different federal requirements and guidelines. Data sources included key documents and 263 interviews. The comprehensive final report provides a detailed description of the educational activities, roles, and functions of AHEC projects, the conditions surrounding their establishment, and their organizational structures, identifying the unique features of the AHEC concept in action, documenting substantial achievements of AHEC projects, and indicating some of the factors that are associated with long-term survival, continuation of the AHEC mission, and project effectiveness. Recommendations address apparently problematic areas and issues of special importance for the AHEC program at this point in its development.