Assessment of the Medical Reserve Corps Program

You Are Here: AHRQ Home > About AHRQ > Mission & Budget > Assessment of the Medical Reserve Corps Program

Appendix B: Case Study Evaluation Questions

Table B-1. Evaluation Questions

Interview Question	Unit Coordinator	Volunteer	Community/Organizational Partner	State/Regional Coordinator
Unit Genesis/Design/Purpose
Who led the effort to establish the MRC and what were the factors that contributed to its initiation?	√			√
What was the goal or purpose of the MRC unit during the demonstration period? Was this a view that is shared by the volunteers and external partners? Has that view changed over time?	√	√	√	√
Was the MRC duplicative of other local preparedness and response initiatives or complementary? What unique need(s) did it fulfill?	√		√	√
External Coordination
What types of relationships were established between the MRC unit and other organizations? Formal or informal? Info sharing? Strategic planning?	√		√
Emergency Deployments
What does surge capacity mean to you?	√		√
What kinds of emergency deployments did the MRC unit support?	√	√	√	√
Was the MRC unit specified in the State and local emergency plan? Why or why not?	√		√	√
How well did MRC volunteers understand activation protocols and local response plans for emergency deployments? What kinds of activities did you engage in to orient them?	√	√	√
How did the MRC [you/your organization] work with other agencies and organizations during emergency deployments? What helped or hindered that process?	√	√	√
How did you communicate with the MRC (or volunteers) during emergency deployments? What helped or hindered communication?	√	√	√
What types of efforts were made to ensure MRC volunteers would have liability coverage in the event of a deployment?	√	√		√
Organizational Factors
What was the leadership structure of the MRC unit during the demonstration period?	√
What were the skills and background of the MRC leaders? How could leadership been improved?	√	√	√	√
What was the degree of turnover in leadership positions?	√	√
What was the nature of the relationship between the unit and the [name of the sponsoring organization]?	√			√
What kind of resources or in-kind supports did the [name of the sponsoring organization] provide? Other external partners? What resources or supports were lacking?	√		√	√
How often did the MRC units meet? What was the level of attendance? What contributed to good/poor attendance?	√	√
Who was involved in developing the MRC’s written plan of action?	√	√
Communication Factors
What types of systems did the MRC unit use to track and update information on volunteers, contacts, and partners? Were they useful? How could they have been improved?	√
How did the MRC routinely communicate with its volunteers? Phone? Mail? E mail/Web?	√	√
Staffing
What professions are represented in the MRC unit? What professions or skill sets does the unit need?	√	√		√
Has the size of the MRC unit been adequate? Does the unit need to be bigger/smaller?	√	√		√
Training and Technical Assistance
What kinds of training and technical assistance did volunteers (or unit leaders) receive?
Was the training and technical assistance provided adequate? If not why and how could it have been more so?
Recruitment and Retention
What procedures were established to verify the credentials and background of MRC volunteers? How could they have been improved?	√
How did volunteers learn about and become members of the MRC unit during the demonstration period?	√	√
What was the level of turnover of MRC volunteers during the demonstration period? What were the major reasons volunteers dropped out? Meeting time/location? Time commitment? Left the area? Skills and interest not compatible with MRC goals?	√	√		√
What strategies did the MRC unit employ to retain volunteers?	√	√
Community Health Deployments
What types of community health activities were carried out by the unit during the demonstration period?	√	√	√	√
What was the level of interest and participation in these activities among the MRC volunteers?	√	√
How could the MRC units been more effectively utilized to address public health needs in the community?	√	√	√	√

Return to Contents
Proceed to Next Section