142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

301128
Establishing Innovative Partnerships for Effective Communication about the Affordable Care Act: The Use of Community Forums

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Diana C. Sisson, MS , School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Otis Owens, MPH , Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Caroline D. Bergeron, DrPH(c), MSc , Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Daniela B. Friedman, MSc, PhD , Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Andrea Tanner, PhD , School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Van Kornegay, MMC , School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Megan A. Weis, DrPH, MPH, MCHES , South Carolina Institute of Medicine & Public Health, Columbia, SC
Teresa Windham, MLIS , Richland Library, Columbia, SC
Lee Patterson, MSW , Richland Library, Columbia, SC
Background: Assessing knowledge about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can help health educators effectively communicate policy information. An innovative partnership between a public library system, an academic institution, and a non-partisan health policy institute seeks to promote ACA understanding. Different strategies employed included developing ACA web content, library signage, staff, magazines, as well as water bill inserts, local newspapers and television, word-of-mouth, and community forums. The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of community forums in educating the public about the ACA.

Methods: Findings from educational community forums conducted at public library branches are described. Paper-pencil surveys were distributed following the forums. The survey instrument assessed forum quality, satisfaction, clarity, perceived knowledge, and demographics. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were used to analyze 15 close-ended items; thematic analysis evaluated two open-ended questions.

Results: 109 surveys were completed (180 attended; 61% response rate) at three forums. Most attendees were female (66%), Caucasian (63%), and employed full-time (40%). Forum quality was rated excellent by about half (48%) and just over 40% were very satisfied with ACA content presented. Findings suggest an increase in respondents’ understanding of the ACA (42% “pretty well” prior; 71% “pretty well” post).

Discussion: Findings suggested community forums may be valuable educational tools for conveying ACA information. Partnering with public libraries can help increase outreach efforts regarding important health issues and is recommended for future ACA research and education.

Learning Areas:

Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Assess the effectiveness of community forums in educating the public about the ACA.

Keyword(s): Affordable Care Act, Community-Based Partnership & Collaboration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am one of the project coordinators on this grant and led the forum evaluation portion of this project. I helped to develop the survey instrument, administer the surveys, as well as analyze the data.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.