Integrating viral hepatitis prevention activities at an American Indian and Alaska Native urban chemical dependency program: Can data make a difference in program quality?

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Rachel Brucker, RN MPH, Mei Lin Castor, MD, MPH, Shelly Huffman, MPH CHES, Maile Taualii, MPH, and Ralph Forquera, MPH. Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle Indian Health Board, PO Box 3364, Seattle, WA 98114, (206) 812-3042, rachelb@uihi.org

Background: The Viral Hepatitis Integration Project (VHIP) at the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB) provides viral hepatitis and HIV screening and prevention services to urban American Indians and Alaska Natives in SIHB's inpatient chemical dependency treatment program. The five-year project is part of CDC's VHIP program that operates through the Indian Health Service. Services include education, risk factor screening, testing for viral hepatitis and HIV, pre- and post-test counseling, and vaccination. A dedicated health educator performs and coordinates many of the various activities. Methods: A hardcopy screening form is used to collect information on patient risk factors, test results, and vaccine administration, all of which are entered into a secure database. Quarterly data analysis is performed to review epidemiologic findings on patient demographics, risk factors, testing and vaccination information, and existing associations between them. In addition, innovative analyses are performed on various indicators for program quality improvement. Results: Data collected on numbers consented for testing/vaccination are matched with numbers tested/vaccinated to understand current practices around offering these services. In addition, data are used to evaluate interval times between screening, testing and post-test counseling, to tailor efforts toward identified sub-groups (e.g. those who do not consent to testing/vaccination), and to assess other programmatic changes related to quality improvement. Conclusion: Program data collection and analyses may be useful for the enhancement of program services and quality improvement. Such outcomes that extend beyond routine epidemiology may help to build administrative and staff support for data collection activities.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session the participant will be able to

•Recognize benefits and challenges of integrating hepatitis prevention services into an inpatient chemical dependency program
•Identify the steps for building a sustainable information retrieval system for conducting epidemiologic analyses and program evaluation
•Describe the importance of establishing a critical feedback loop with clinical staff to share results of collected information

Keywords: American Indians, Quality Improvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Methodological Techniques to Reduce Health Disparities

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA