Commonly Asked Questions about Allied Health Services Evaluation
28th April 2004
By: ADGP

What type of support can the evaluation team offer to Divisions?
The evaluation team offers evaluation support to Divisions including evaluation design, development of data tool(s), analysis, reading and feedback on proposals and evaluation plans.  In the main, support has taken the form of individual contact with project officers and evaluation staff, but written information has also been made available to Divisions and can be found on the website http://ahpilots.strategicdata.com.au/   

How do Divisions access support?
Contact  by e-mail:  ahpilots@strategicdata.com.au.  All email queries will be sent to all members of the evaluation team and the relevant team member will respond. Alternatively, Divisions in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the NT could contact Belinda Morley on bcmorley@unimelb.edu.au and Divisions in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT should contact Fay Kohn on fkohn@unimelb.edu.au. 

Who can access the database?
Divisions can see only their own Divisional data though only one person can enter data at a time, however there can be multiple users from each Division (using the same password). 

How is it accessed?
Divisions are to use the user name and password Strategic Data have emailed to them.

Is it mandatory for Divisions to use the new database?
Yes.

Will Divisions receive any further information (apart from what is on the website) regarding the new database and what is required to be done complete the data entries?
Bulletins of  Frequently Asked Questions will be regularly made available to all Divisions. 

What will the information entered into the new database be used for?
The information will help to examine nationally the  effectiveness and efficiency of this initiative, drawing together local evaluation structures with minimum dataset.

Does minimum dataset information still need to be reported on in quarterly reports now that there is a database?
No.

When will consolidated information from the evaluation be available to the Divisions' Network?
Periodically, the national evaluation team will be drawing together information from the local evaluations and MDS to provide ongoing information about how the Access to Allied Health projects are going, who they are reaching, the type of care they are providing, and whether specific models of service delivery seem to be particularly effective in given circumstances.  The team is working on the first of a series of reports at the moment.  The first will focus on the lesson learnt by the 15 pilot projects funded in the first round.     

Can Divisions use their own database and upload data periodically into the Commonwealth database?
All Divisions in this project should use the minimum dataset.  Funds from the evaluation component of the projects can be used for data entry.  Periodic uploading should be OK (please check with Adam Clark 03 9348 2013). The retrospective Divisional pilot program data should be entered into database as soon as possible though some information boxes could be left blank if necessary.

If so, how often should this be done? 
Ideally it should be done as soon as available but not more than one month after data collected.

How can we get a look at how the data entry system really works without necessarily entering real data?
This can be done on the existing data entry system, as long as the information is not saved.

Will we be provided assistance / training with the conversion of our datasets to the format required by the online database?
That question should be directed to Adam Clark:  (ahpilots@strategicdata.com.au) or 03 9348 2013.

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