Fellow:          Debra Chambers
                      Senior Project Officer
                      WA Country Health Service Pilbara & Gascoyne

Year:              2005

Title:              Pit Stop Evaluation

Summary

This evaluation is the beginning of a process of formally evaluating the Pit Stop men’s health program.  It has answered a number of questions, and identified further areas in need of evaluation.  The questions raised in this study were:

Can Pit Stop can be implemented in different sites with local variation in content and delivery style, resulting in similar levels of recall and self-reported changes in behaviour?

Does Pit Stop engage men, and do the men act on the advice they are given?

The process undertaken to answer these questions was:

Interviews with the Gascoyne, Mid West and Goldfields Pit Stop coordinators to determine how the program was delivered, the variation between regions, and gather information about how men respond to Pit Stop.

An audit of the Pit Stop work order forms to assess quality of documentation and develop a profile of men’s health in the three regions.

Telephone interviews with men who had completed Pit Stop to assess their recall, and determine if attending Pit Stop had led to a change in their preventative health behaviour.

From the study a number of key findings emerged:

Pit Stop delivery - The Pit Stop participants’ profile suggested that Pit Stop successfully reached men with significant risk profiles in all the three regions.  There are opportunities for improvement in its delivery, it requires updating, attention to details, and improvements in documentation and accuracy.

Changing men’s behaviour - Participants and service deliverers saw Pit Stop as a valuable tool in effectively engaging men in their preventative health, and to encourage them to act on the information they are given at Pit Stop.  Men’s recall of their Pit Stop performance was high (70 - 90%), and for almost half (43%) of the men the engagement had resulted in some change in behaviour and/or a connection with a health professional.

Men’s health - While there are some differences between the regions, the overall risk profile is not positive with only an estimated 40 - 50% of men meeting health norms. However this profile suggests that Pit Stop is reaching men with significant risk profiles in all the three regions – the men who require preventative health messages.

On the weight of this evidence, this study shows Pit Stop can be implemented in different sites with local variation in content and delivery style with similar outcomes in relation to recall and change in behaviour.  It offers a major opportunity to engage men and have an impact on their preventative health behaviour.  However the study also demonstrates weakness in delivery and documentation.  In order to ensure that this engagement is of greatest value it is strongly recommended that resources are allocated to updating the package, further evaluation, and ongoing coordination of the program.

If you would like to read more, download the final report here (pdf 877kb)