Deciding to participate: How to make the choice
Form guides decisions on community outreach
Before a partnership for a community outreach project is formed between OhioHealth Cancer Services in Columbus and another organization, staff complete a program request form while talking to the contact on the phone. These data allow the department to determine if the outreach fits its strategic plan, says Mary Szczepanik, MS, BSN, RN, manager, cancer education, support, and outreach at OhioHealth Cancer Services.
The program request form has space for contact information and the basic what, when, and where information. In addition, the following facts are recorded in the event information category:
- who made the request for the event, with selections including administration, a health professional, the general public, or other group;
- type of event, such as screening, health fair, professional education, or public/community education;
- whether the event is cancer- or disease-specific; and if so, what type of cancer or disease;
- who the target audience is: the general public, African-American, another minority, or a population in a lower socioeconomic status; age and gender of the population;
- the city and county in which the event is located;
- whether the event will provide an opportunity for physician involvement;
- the names of the other event sponsors;
- what is being requested whether materials, a speaker, a staffed display, financial help, or volunteers;
- whether the event is new and if not whether cancer services participated in the past;
- the number of people expected to attend.
A second section of the form has questions that help to identify the benefits of the event to OhioHealth Cancer Services. They include:
- marketing value, such as media exposure and market share increase;
- whether the medical center will be recognized in any way for its donation and if so by what means. For example, will it be verbally recognized during the event or included in pre-event publicity and in printed materials?
- whether the medical center receives a financial benefit;
- whether the event is a fundraising effort; and if so, how will the funds be used;
- amount of sponsorship requested and what those funds will be used for;
- the education, support
and outreach value of the event. Questions in this category include:
- Community outreach event? Yes/No
- Continuing education credit available? Yes/No
- Does this event focus on our goals? Yes/No
- Do we have influence over attendance? Yes/No
The final section of the form is completed after the event to help determine the value of the event. It covers:
- the number of staff involved in the event and the total staff hours required during the event and in the preparation;
- the number of volunteers at the event and the total volunteer hours at the event and during its preparation;
- the cost of the event including food, travel, the facility, literature, giveaways, shipping, and sponsorship;
- whether there was a speaker fee received;
- the actual number of literature and giveaways used and whether any unused literature or giveaways were returned;
- the number of people in attendance and whether the event reached the populations intended;
- whether the goals for the event were accomplished.
The final question asks if the event should be participated in again. There is additional space for comments on why cancer services should no longer participate in the event. All the information gathered from the form is entered into a database for future reference, says Szczepanik.
Before a partnership for a community outreach project is formed between OhioHealth Cancer Services in Columbus and another organization, staff complete a program request form while talking to the contact on the phone. These data allow the department to determine if the outreach fits its strategic plan.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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