246012 Science to Service: Training Designed to Optimize Knowledge Transfer

Monday, October 31, 2011

Aaron Benton , Program Management and Evaluation, Danya International, Inc., Silver Spring, MD
SAMHSA touches millions through state grants for mental and behavioral health services. In 1993 Congress passed GPRA to measure Federal program's performance and results. SAMHSA responded by collecting data from providers, programs, individual clients and counselors.

Danya International has been responsible since 2003 for training and evaluating the core knowledge of CSAT grantees, an element of GPRA. This element of training and evaluating results of the training is intended to measure results, create efficiencies, improve learning, enhance customer experience and increase knowledge transfer to medical professionals.

Results. Our data were collected from 673 grantee staff, including pre and post knowledge surveys and training satisfaction surveys. Over the study period, the mean knowledge score of participants for pre-training knowledge was 70.2% and the mean knowledge score for post-training was 91.2%, an improvement of 29.9%. Attendees will see new concepts for use of regulatory required data. These new concepts provide insight for attendees to enhance evaluation of their performance and provide Federal agencies with richer pictures from the cycle of results in the effort to enhance science to service.

Conclusions. The transfer of science to service through mental health professionals is critical; the knowledge must be relevant and address questions to improve performance beyond compliance with GPRA. Evaluating and responding to findings of CSAT grantees satisfies grantees that their questions are answered and that materials presented in required training are tools crafted to enhance success in the mental and behavioral health.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Program planning
Public health or related education
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify 10 key components that would ensure a person could successfully complete and face-to-face client interview after completing training. 2. Develop a pre and post assessment to measure knowledge transfer 3. Analyze results and adjust training to ensure the information is relevant and improves overall performance of over 600 federally funded programs.

Keywords: Substance Abuse, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I oversee the unit that developed and delivers the training which the data is collected from.
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.