Which statement best describes the PRECEDE-PROCEED model?

• A. A method for evaluating clinical risks in hospitals.
• B. A budgeting framework for program funding.
• C. A planning framework that starts with social and epidemiological assessment, then educational/ecological and administrative/policy assessments, followed by implementation and evaluation.
• D. An algorithm for diagnosing infectious diseases.

Answer: (C)

The main idea being tested is how a health-promotion planning framework guides program design through a sequence of assessments leading to action. The PRECEDE-PROCEED model is a planning framework used to design, implement, and evaluate health programs by first identifying social conditions and health problems (social and epidemiological assessments). It then examines determinants that can influence those problems—educational and ecological factors, and administrative/policy factors—before moving into the actual implementation and the various levels of evaluation. This sequence—social and epidemiological assessments, followed by educational/ecological and administrative/policy assessments, then implementation and evaluation—is exactly what the model prescribes, making the statement a precise description of the framework.

It isn’t about evaluating clinical risks in hospitals, budgeting for programs, or diagnosing infectious diseases, so those options don’t fit the purpose and structure of this planning approach.