Applying the eight principles of developmental evaluation: Complex Care Hub as a case example

Abstract

Evaluators learning about developmental evaluation (DE) may struggle with the need for guidance on the concrete specifics of how to “do developmental evaluation” because of the need to tailor the use of the method to the context of the program being evaluated. Case examples in the literature provide illustrations of how others have applied this approach. This article adds to this growing body of knowledge by detailing the experience of the first year of a multiyear developmental evaluation of Complex Care Hub. This healthcare program is a hospital-at-home model where patients receive hospital-level services but sleep in their own home and receive case management as needed. The article ends with a discussion of challenges and lessons learned.