Abstract
The RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance) framework is a tool for
planning and evaluation that reflects outputs and outcomes. It is widely used in public health evaluation
research. However, the application of the RE-AIM framework for evaluating the implementation of action
plans had not yet been observed in the Ministry of Public Health. Little is known about the actual impact
of the action plans on individual and organizational levels. There is a need to systematically and routinely
evaluate the actual impact of the action plans to optimize the decision-making process and improve the
impact of the performance of the Ministry of Public Health. This study aimed to explore the application
of the RE-AIM framework in evaluating the implementation of health promotion and environmental health
action plans of organizations under the Department of Health. A participatory action research approach
was applied to 37 organizations of the Department of Health—22 central and 15 regional subunits. The
study found that the most common type of indicators in the Department of Health’s action plans was the
implementation (37% of total), followed by the reach (21%). The least common was the maintenance,
therefore removed from the final framework of four types of indicators. All participating subunits were
able to select indicators aligned with the shortened RE-AI framework. The evaluation of action plans had
achieved the highest target of the reach 3.7 times of the target, followed by the adoption 3.4 times, and
the implementation 2 times. Additionally, 28 out of 37 subunits (75.7%) exceeded their targets by the
second five-month evaluation. Knowing the current changes in the indicators helped relevant officers well
aware of the situations and adjusted their actions in a timely manner, both in the short term (monthly)
and medium term (the last five months of the fiscal year). In conclusion, the RE-AIM framework could
be used to evaluate the implementation of the action plans of the Department of Health. It could assess
activity coverage and budget absorption by a specified timeframe. It also showed alignment with the
new public management principles to maximize transparency and performance of public organizations.
