177209 National Community Centers of Excellence in Women's Health: Improving access to services for multicultural populations through integrated models of care at the community-level

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 4:30 PM

Barbara James, MPH , Office on Women's Health, Office on Women's Health, Washington, DC
Lyle Austin, MS , Booz Allen Hamilton, Rockville, MD
Anna Ettinger, MPH, MSW , Booz Allen Hamilton, Rockville, MD
Erika Rogan , Booz Allen Hamilton, Rockville, MD
Negest Hayes, MPP , Booz Allen Hamilton, Rockville, MD
Elizabeth Coppolecchia, MHSA , Booz Allen Hamilton, Rockville, MD
Stefanie Bell, RN, MBA, CPHQ , Booz Allen Hamilton, Rockville, MD
Calvin Teel, MS , Office on Women's Health, Rockville, MD
     
Background: The Office on Women's Health (OWH) National Community Centers of Excellence in Women's Health (CCOE) program developed multidisciplinary, community-based models of care to provide services to women of all ages and racial/ethnic groups to reduce health disparities. Fourteen CCOEs across the US were selected to implement “centers without walls,” including organizations in border states, island communities, and diverse inner-city and rural areas serving immigrant populations. Objective: To evaluate the program's effectiveness at improving access to services, OWH conducted baseline and follow-up evaluations in 2003 and 2007. Methods: OWH surveyed 172 partners and 1,616 patients and conducted 14 site visits and director surveys to assess access to and satisfaction with women's health services, public education/outreach, healthcare provider training, community-based research, and leadership development. Results: The majority of patients could easily access care (90%) and were satisfied with the overall quality of their care (93%) and care coordination (92%). The percentage of patients with a regular provider and the percentage of patients receiving a referral in two days or less significantly increased from 2003 to 2007. Addressing increasingly multicultural populations, CCOE interventions incorporated traditional practices, including “promatoras” or community health workers, cross-cultural prenatal classes, cultural competency training, and research on cultural variation in intimate partner violence. Discussion: By building trust with diverse, underserved populations and increasing collaboration with community agencies, CCOEs sustained or improved access to healthcare, education, training, research, and leadership programs. CCOEs developed comprehensive, integrated models of care to cross the borders of age, ethnicity/race, and service type.

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify three strategies for increasing access to and integration of women's healthcare services for diverse and underserved populations. 2. Describe a framework for evaluating comprehensive, integrated models of care at using multiple sources of qualitative and quantitative data from community agency, partner, and client perspectives. 3. List five lessons learned, best practices, and sustainability strategies for improving and maintaining community-based models of care for women's health.

Keywords: Women's Health, Access to Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Provided oversight for the program evaluation project on which this presentation is based
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.

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