Community Science projects
Health Promotion and Equity
Support to the Office of Minority Health’s National Partnership for Action (NPA) Plan
Through a subcontract to Team-PSA, Community Science reviewed the action steps and developed measures for the 20 strategies that are part of the plan, created benchmarks for selected strategies, developed an evaluation framework for the NPA, and wrote the evaluation chapter for the plan. We were also responsible for integrating comments from the Office of Minority Health’s federal, states, and local partners before the plan was distributed for public comment. (2009)
Evaluation of a Childhood Obesity Prevention Program in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8
The Summit Health Institute for Research and Education, Inc. (SHIRE) asked Community Science to design and conduct an evaluation that documents the program’s implementation and assesses the extent to which the project’s objectives were achieved. Community Science surveyed collaboration partners and conducted focus groups with Ward 8 residents, and submitted an annual report to inform the program’s ongoing improvement. (2009)
Assessment for the National Partnership for Women and Families’ Technical Assistance on Consumer Engagement
In 2006, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched Aligning Forces for Quality, a $300 million national health care quality initiative designed to build the capacity of 14 local communities to collaborate and influence health care quality outcomes. The primary goals of the program are to improve 1) the quality of chronic care in inpatient and outpatients settings, 2) public reporting of performance measures, and 3) consumer engagement. Community Science was contracted to conduct an assessment of the consumer engagement technical assistance provided by the National Partnership for Women and Families. We conducted interviews with grantees, project stakeholders, and local consumer advocates; made site visits to selected grantee communities; and developed an assessment report that helped the foundation improve its approach and strategy for achieving the goals of the Aligning Forces for Quality initiative . (2008-2009)
Evaluation of the Connecticut Health Foundation’s Ten-Year Objective to Improve Patient-Provider Relations and Reduce Health Disparities
Community Science was engaged by the foundation in 2007 to evaluate this particular ten-year objective. As part of the initial support, we helped the foundation convene and facilitate an advisory committee to develop a framework for improving patient-provider relations as a means to reducing health disparities. (2007-2008).
At around the same time, the foundation contracted with Community Science to evaluate its Health Literacy in Adult Education Settings initiative. This initiative aimed to infuse health literacy into the curricula of six adult education centers. Community Science conducted interviews center directors; conducted pre- and post-tests of students’ self-efficacy in health and health literacy knowledge; and surveyed the teachers. (2008–2009)
Guided by the framework mentioned above, we also conducted a retrospective and secondary analysis of the foundation’s discretionary grants related to patient-provider interactions. This report is a “live” document; we will update it every year to include new grants made by the foundation.
In 2008, the Connecticut Health Foundation, guided by the framework mentioned above, designed EQual, a two-year effort to assist private physician practices make quality improvements that will eventually lead to better patient-provider interactions. The first of its kind in Connecticut, this initiative is modeled after components of the Improvement Performance in Practice (IPIP) effort in Colorado. Community Science is evaluating EQual as part of our overall role to assess the degree to which the foundation achieves its ten-year objective. (2008-2011).
Evaluation of the Colorado Trust’s Equalities in Health Initiative
In 2006, The Colorado Trust funded 14 organizations to improve their cultural competency in order to strengthen their capacity to reduce health disparities. Community Science was engaged to evaluate the initiative, specifically assessing: 1) changes in cultural competency among grantees, 2) the influence of cultural competency changes on grantee interventions and short-term outcomes, 3) factors and conditions needed to bring about positive changes in organizational cultural competency, and 4) grantee progress and accomplishments over time. This engagement was expanded to include another 12 organizations funded in 2007. In 2009, Community Science’s engagement with The Trust was cut short due to changes in the foundation’s financial situation, as a consequence of the declining economy, and funding priorities. Community Science continues to evaluate the efforts in the first 14 organizations; a final report is expected in spring 2011.
Community Action Grant Program Phase I Evaluation
Community Science evaluated phase I of the Community Action Grant Program, funded by the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The evaluation assessed the extent to which phase 1 grantees were able to 1) identify an exemplary practice in mental health service delivery or administration and 2) conduct a consensus-building process to build support and commitment among key stakeholders in the community to implement the identified practice. The evaluation, which focused on 80 grants funded between 1997 and 2000 that had completed phase I projects, determined consensus-building outcomes, as well as factors that promoted or impeded consensus building. (2002)
Facilitation of A Strategic Planning Process to Eliminate Health Disparities
The National Health Services Corps (NHSC) has been bringing health services to underserved communities for more than 25 years. Community Science assisted NHSC and its parent agency, the Bureau of Primary Health Care of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to use NHSC's 25th anniversary celebration as an opportunity to increase the organization's role in eliminating disparities in access to health care and to focus public attention on the issue. Community Science facilitated a participatory strategic planning process and provided technical assistance for this effort. (1998)
ASSIST Evaluation Plan and Management
The American Stop Smoking Intervention Study Trial (ASSIST), funded by the National Cancer Institute, is the largest public health tobacco-control effort in U.S. history. This initiative supported state and local coalitions in 23 states to control tobacco use through policy and other systemic changes. Community Science facilitated the design of the evaluation, including the development of a logic model, conceptual development and operationalization of systems change measures, and development of preliminary statistical models. We facilitated workgroups of leading scientists, National Cancer Institute staff, and practitioners. We also designed the final evaluation plan and developed an evaluation management plan. (1997)
