DEVELOPMENT OF A PLAN TO EVALUATE THE NAVY OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION MONITORING SYSTEM (NOHIMS)

THE PHASE I WORK PLAN BEGINS WITH A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE RELEVANT TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND EVALUATION METHODOLOGY. AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THIS LITERATURE REVIEW WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE PHASE I FINAL REPORT. NINE AREAS OF SYSTEM FUNCTIONING AS FOLLOWS ARE INCLUDED FOR CONSIDERATION IN DESIGNING THE EVALUATION STRATEGY: RESPONSIVENESS OF NOHIMS TO NAVY NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS, SUITABILITY OF THE NOHIMS DESIGN, EFFICIENCY OF NOHIMS PERFORMANCE, ENHANCEMENT OF MEDICAL MONITORING AND CARE, USE OF THE NOHIMS DATABASE FOR LEGAL EVIDENCE, USABILITY OF NOHIMS, COST ANALYSIS OF NOHIMS, TRANSFERABILITY OF NOHIMS, AND NOHIMS AS AN AID TO RESEARCH. A VARIETY OF EVALUATION TECHNIQUES AND METHODS WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE EVALUATION PLAN DEPENDING ON THEIR APPROPRIATENESS TO THE DATA TO BE COLLECTED. OBJECTIVE MEASURES ARE PREFERRED BUT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO APPLY. SUBJECTIVE MEASURES TO BE CONSIDERED ARE THE USE OF INTERVIEW GUIDES, RATING SCALES, STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRES, AND/OR HISTORICAL CHRONICLES. THE DETAILED EVALUATION PLAN WITH ITS ACCOMPANYING DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS WILL SERVE AS A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR CONDUCTING THE ACTUAL EVALUATION IN PHASE II.