Zeitschrift für Evaluation: Issue Development of an Evaluation Culture in Health Promotion

The article examines the evaluation culture of health promotion in the German speaking area Germany, Switzerland, and Austria), looking at how evaluation practice is structured and organised. The assessment is based on discussions held during the 2024 meeting of the corresponding Network for Health Promotion and on document analyses of structures and evaluation practices in the three corresponding countries. The results show that evaluation in health promotion is widely recognized and is strongly influenced by funding institutions. The importance of impact orientation is increasing, but the complexity of health promotion creates methodological challenges for evaluation. This challenge is primarily addressed through multi-method approaches and the increasing use of impact models. The principles of health promotion are increasingly, but not systematically, examined in evaluations. In particular, transparency and publication of results are in need of improvement. Overall, it is recommended that the scientific orientation and exchange between evaluation stakeholders should be strengthened.

Keywords
evaluation, health promotion, evaluation culture, impact