A Coalition of School Based Health Centers and Key Evaluation Findings

Since 1997, the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the Alameda County School Health Services Coalition, comprised of 12 school health centers that serve a diverse clientele throughout Alameda County, California (includes cities of Oakland and Berkeley). UCSF researchers will describe how the Coalition's unique interdisciplinary structure is a model for other school health centers. The team will also present how process and outcome data is collected for program planning, fund development and marketing purposes. Current research findings demonstrating the impact of the school health centers on access to care, contraceptive use, mental health indicators, and resiliency factors will also be shared. For example, students who had used the school health center services were twice as likely as their peers who had not used them to report always getting reproductive health services when they needed them (53% compared to 22%, p<.001) and always getting counseling/mental health services when they needed them (44% compared to 22%, p<.001). In addition, the percentage of female family planning clients that “always” used birth control (other than condoms) in the last month increased from 13% at baseline to 33% 3-6 months later (p<.001). Evaluation methods include an electronic database to document information on clients served and services provided; school-wide assessment surveys; client focus groups; and satisfaction surveys. Session participants will gain insight into successful administrative and research strategies for school health centers.