| Course | HD460 Health Education Program Implementation and Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Implementation checklist |
| Length | About 670 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health and Wellness |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HD460 Unit 2
Everything That Has to Exist Before the First Home Visit: A Unit 2 Implementation Checklist for a Late-Life Depression Program
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HD460: Health Education Program Implementation and Evaluation
Unit 2 Implementation Checklist
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The agency, its partners, staff and dates are composite; the home-based depression trial, the fidelity framework and the treatment recommendations cited are real.
The Program in Brief
Healthy Days at Home adapts a home-based program for older adults with mild to moderate depression, in which trained counselors visit about eight times over five months and teach problem solving, plan pleasant and social activities, and review progress with a psychiatric consultant. In a randomized trial, this model led to greater improvement in depression than usual care among older adults receiving community services (Ciechanowski et al., 2004). Launch date: September 1.
How the Checklist Works
Each item has four fields: what must exist, who owns it, the deadline counted back from launch, and the evidence that it is done, such as a signed document or a completed training certificate. An item without evidence is not done, however confident its owner is.
Staff and Training
1. Two counselors hired. Owner: agency director. Deadline: launch minus 10 weeks. Evidence: signed offer letters.
2. Counselors complete the program's training. Owner: program manager. Deadline: launch minus 4 weeks. Evidence: training certificates.
3. Psychiatric consultant contracted for weekly case review. Owner: agency director. Deadline: launch minus 6 weeks. Evidence: signed contract with the community mental health center.
4. Supervision schedule set. Owner: program manager. Deadline: launch minus 2 weeks. Evidence: calendar entries.
Referral Pathways
5. Agreement with the home-delivered meals program for drivers to share flyers and refer clients who seem withdrawn. Owner: program manager. Deadline: launch minus 6 weeks. Evidence: signed agreement.
6. Agreements with two senior centers to host screening and refer. Owner: program manager. Deadline: launch minus 6 weeks. Evidence: signed agreements.
7. Referral form and fax or email route tested. Owner: data coordinator. Deadline: launch minus 2 weeks. Evidence: three test referrals received.
Safety
8. Crisis protocol written and signed by the mental health center, covering what a counselor does if a participant reports thoughts of self-harm. Owner: program manager with the consultant. Deadline: launch minus 4 weeks. Evidence: signed protocol, with the center's 24-hour number.
9. Counselors trained on the crisis protocol, including a role play. Owner: consultant. Deadline: launch minus 3 weeks. Evidence: attendance sheet.
10. Home visit safety policy, including check-in calls after each visit. Owner: agency director. Deadline: launch minus 3 weeks. Evidence: policy signed by counselors.
The crisis protocol is the one item that cannot slip, because the program will screen people for depression in their homes, and a counselor who meets a person at risk without a tested plan is the program's most serious failure point.
Materials and Data
11. Depression questionnaire, consent forms and session workbooks printed in English and Spanish. Owner: program manager. Deadline: launch minus 2 weeks. Evidence: printed stock counted.
12. Data system set up to record sessions, scores and referrals. Owner: data coordinator. Deadline: launch minus 3 weeks. Evidence: test records entered and reported.
13. Session checklist for fidelity monitoring approved. Owner: program manager. Deadline: launch minus 2 weeks. Evidence: final version filed.
Launch Readiness Review
Two weeks before launch, the program manager reviews every item with its evidence. Any item without evidence delays launch unless the director signs a written exception. Items 3, 8 and 9, the consultant and the crisis protocol, cannot be excepted.
Why a Checklist
Reviews of implementation find that programs carried out with high fidelity and adequate support produce better outcomes, and that missing preconditions are a common reason programs underperform (Durlak & DuPre, 2008). Recommendations for treating depression in older adults in community settings stress collaboration with mental health specialists and clear protocols for those who need more intensive care (Steinman et al., 2007), which items 3, 8 and 9 put in place before any participant is seen.
References
Ciechanowski, P., Wagner, E., Schmaling, K., Schwartz, S., Williams, B., Diehr, P., Kulzer, J., Gray, S., Collier, C., & LoGerfo, J. (2004). Community-integrated home-based depression treatment in older adults: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 291(13), 1569-1577. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.291.13.1569
Durlak, J. A., & DuPre, E. P. (2008). Implementation matters: A review of research on the influence of implementation on program outcomes and the factors affecting implementation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41(3-4), 327-350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-008-9165-0
Steinman, L. E., Frederick, J. T., Prohaska, T., Satariano, W. A., Dornberg-Lee, S., Fisher, R., Graub, P. B., Leith, K., Presby, K., Sharkey, J., Snyder, S., Turner, D., Wilson, N., Yagoda, L., Unutzer, J., & Snowden, M. (2007). Recommendations for treating depression in community-based older adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(3), 175-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2007.04.034
The Purdue Global HD460 Unit 2 instructions
Unit 2 typically asks you to build a checklist of everything that must be in place before a program launches, organized by domain, with responsibility and timing for each item. Most checklists fit in two to four pages of short entries. Graders reward items specific enough to verify, a named owner and a deadline counted back from launch for each, and a stated form of evidence that the item is complete. Many sections also ask for a go or no-go rule saying which missing items would delay launch. Safety and consent items deserve particular attention in any program that enters people's homes or asks about mental health. Cite the program's evidence base and a source on why implementation details affect outcomes.
How this HD460 Unit 2 example is built
The checklist opens with a short description of the home-based model and its randomized trial. A paragraph explains the four fields each item carries and the rule that an item without evidence is not done. Thirteen numbered items follow under four headings: staff and training, referral pathways, safety, and materials and data, each with an owner, a deadline and its evidence. The highlighted sentence explains why the crisis protocol outranks everything else. A readiness review section sets a two-week check with written exceptions and names the three items that cannot be excepted. A closing paragraph ties the checklist to research on implementation and to recommendations for community depression care.
Where the points sit in the HD460 Unit 2 rubric
Implementation checklists tend to be marked on specificity, completeness across domains, ownership and timing, verifiability and the quality of the launch rule. Specificity and verifiability usually carry the most weight, because a checklist whose items cannot be checked offers no protection. Completeness rewards covering staffing, partners, safety, materials and data. Ownership and timing earn credit when each item has one person and a date counted back from launch. The launch rule is rewarded when it distinguishes items that can wait from items that must not. Citations supporting the program model and the role of implementation round out the expectations. A checklist that a colleague could pick up and run if the program manager fell ill is the practical test many graders apply.
Common HD460 Unit 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them
A frequent error is listing tasks without owners, so everyone assumes someone else is responsible. Another is writing items too vague to check, such as prepare staff. Some students forget safety protocols entirely, which is serious for programs in homes or involving mental health. Others set every deadline at launch day, leaving no time to fix problems. Omitting a readiness review means a missing item may only be noticed after launch. Launching something else, such as a walking group or a cooking class? Share its activities and partners, and the checklist can be built domain by domain from them.
Get an HD460 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Share the program your HD460 course is implementing, its setting and its start date if one is set, together with the Unit 2 prompt and rubric. Within 24-48h a free first custom sample comes back as a dated checklist: every item owned, launch blockers marked, and baseline data placed ahead of the first session. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More HD460 papers and BS in Health and Wellness samples
- HD460 Unit 1: Program Implementation Discussion Post
- HD460 Unit 3: Partner and Role Agreement
- HD460 Unit 4: Fidelity Monitoring Plan
- HD460 Unit 5: Problem Response Memo
- HD460 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- HD460 Unit 7: Process Evaluation
- HD460 Unit 8: Outcome Evaluation
- HD460 Unit 9: Stakeholder Report
- HD460 Unit 10: Implementation and Evaluation Portfolio
- HD440 Unit 2: Data Source Review
- HD420 Unit 2: Determinants Analysis
HD460 Unit 2 questions, answered
How long should an implementation checklist be?
Long enough to cover every domain the program depends on and short enough to use in a meeting. Two to four pages of tables is common for a course assignment. More important than length is that each item has an owner, a deadline and a way to confirm it is done, so the list can be checked rather than merely read.
Should the checklist include evaluation tasks?
Yes, wherever evaluation depends on something happening before delivery. Baseline measures, consent to use records and fidelity tools all have to exist before the first session, or the later evaluation has nothing to compare against. Many sections treat a checklist that leaves evaluation until the end as missing an entire domain.
What is a go or no-go criterion?
A statement of which unfinished items would delay launch. Some gaps, such as a missing room agreement or safety protocol, mean the program should not start; others can be closed while it runs. Naming the difference shows judgment about risk, which is usually what a checklist assignment tests beyond simple completeness.
Where can I find a free HD460 Unit 2 sample paper?
You can read the full Unit 2 checklist here, listing what must exist before a home-based depression program's first visit.
Why does a checklist need evidence for each item?
Because confidence is not completion. A signed agreement or a training certificate shows an item is actually done, which protects the launch from assumptions.