A district health officer designs a new immunization outreach programme. Before full implementation, she tests the microplan in two blocks, gathers feedback from field workers, and modifies the training module accordingly. Which type of evaluation is she performing?
- A Summative evaluation
- B Formative evaluation ✓
- C Impact evaluation
- D Cost-benefit evaluation
Correct answer: B. Formative evaluation
Explanation
Formative evaluation is conducted during programme development or early implementation, with the explicit purpose of improving the programme while it is still malleable. Summative evaluation judges the overall merit or impact of a finished programme, usually against objectives, and cannot change its course. Impact evaluation measures long-term effect on the target problem and comes much later than this pilot phase.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
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