 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Alberto Jose Cardelle, PhD, MPH, Public Health Program, East Stroudsburg University, 200 Prospect Street, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301, 570-422-3401, acardelle@po-box.esu.edu and Lisa Baumann, MA, Northeast Cap, University of Scranton, po box 670, Scranton, PA 18501.
This paper presents the results of a validity assessment of a tool designed to identify patients at high risk for negative health outcomes because of lifestyle, behavior and more importantly social determinants, such as lack of insurance.
The tool is a key strategy of the Northeast Pennsylvania Community Access Program (NECAP) whose goal is the creation of a coalition of community providers that will increase the capacity and quality of safety net services. NECAP is integrating service providers and creating systems that are more responsive to clients, more effective and efficient at providing clients with appropriate services.
In order to more accurately define patients’ needs for timely care, NECAP developed a 53 variable self-administered tool that allows NECAP staff to score the client’s status in relation to 12 domains (demographic, social, environmental, medical, psychosocial, etc.). The clients receive an acuity score, measuring the acuteness of their service needs.
This paper presents the results of a year-long evaluation of the tool’s internal validity. Using a sample of 500-800 patients not only is the tool’s inter-item reliability evaluated, but the predictive capacity of the tool’s acuity scores are assessed against operating “checkpoints.” Each client’s acuity score is compared to the assessment carried out by NECAP staff who follow-up with clients, the assessment of primary care providers, as well as the assessment of case managers.
The paper concludes by cross-tabulating acuity scores with key demographic characteristics in order to create a profile of the high-risk populations, and assesses the tools validity in multiple settings.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Access to Care, Underserved Populations
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.