Logic modeling: a tool for improving educational programs

Palliative care education programs must be systematically designed and accurately evaluated in order to account for their impact on learners and learning communities. Logic modeling is a framework for designing educational programs and monitoring their influence. We applied a logic modeling process to a Palliative Care Educational Program (PCEP), embedded within a required month-long geriatrics rotation for third-year general internal medicine residents at the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Each of four main categories of a logic model and the process for applying the steps to the PCEP are described. The four logic model categories that form the basis of the analysis are: (1) inputs, the raw resources consumed by the program (human resources, money, and space); (2) outputs, program activities and the number and types of actual participants; (3) outcomes, what the program will achieve in the short term (knowledge, attitudes and behavior change); and (4) impact, the results that are of ultimate interest to program stakeholders, such as placement in medically underserved areas, improved health or more efficient care. The application of logic modeling to the PCEP exposed achievements (e.g., resident knowledge gains) and gaps (no evidence of long-term impact) in each of the model categories and has resulted in the design team's reassessment of each program component. Palliative care educators can improve their programs by using the logic model categories and process steps to explicitly define and assess the links between key program components.