Applying Theory of Change to a Structural Change Initiative: Evaluation of Model Communities in a Diverse County.

Structural change approaches, also called policy, systems, and environmental change approaches, have been increasingly promoted and adopted by public ealth agencies in the past decade. These interventions require attention to multilevel, complex and contextual influences on individual and community health outcomes, requiring a sound theoretical framework that links the many processes and outcomes over time. The Model Communities program of Cook County, Illinois Communities Putting Prevention to Work program employed a theory of change (ToC) framework to inform the evaluations' design and execution.