263122 Documenting systems level outcomes in community partnerships: Results of an online reporting system

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 5:10 PM - 5:30 PM

Victoria Sanchez, DrPH, MPH , Dept of Family and Community Medicine, Public Health Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Ron Hale, MS Ed , Office of Community Health Partnerships (now retired), New Mexico Department of Public Health, Santa Fe, NM
Christina Carrillo, MS , Health Systems Bureau, Public Health Division, New Mexico Department of Public Health, Santa Fe, NM
Mark Andrews, MA , Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
     
We report selected results of an evaluation framework and online data reporting system that was developed to evaluate intermediate, systems level outcomes of New Mexico's 32 Department of Health-funded Community Health Councils. Community health councils, like other kinds of broad-based coalitions, can be expected to contribute to making changes in community systems that are linked to community health improvement. The purpose of the on-line reporting system was is to gather statewide data on changes in systems (e.g., programs, practices, or policies) that result from the role of health councils as planning and coordinating bodies. These changes are the intermediate links between council plans and actions and longer-term health outcomes. We developed the system through a participatory approach in which health council coordinators and members worked with a university research team to select intermediate outcomes, define indicators and refine the system over time. Guided by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Community Heath Improvement framework, we constructed a three-component framework to evaluate council development, community assessment and community action. Data demonstrated councils' unique contribution in the areas of policy development, leveraging resources, building and sustaining new collaborations and responding to emerging issues. The multi-year process helped us build a data collection system and process that captured aggregate data and yet allowed community health councils in diverse geographic regions to report their individual work.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related research
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Learning Objectives 1. Describe a participatory model for evaluation of 32 community health councils (non-categorical community health coalitions). 2. Describe an internet-based data reporting system for a statewide evaluation of community health councils. 3. Present a summary of evaluation data documenting intermediate outcomes with respect to policy development, leveraging resources, building and sustaining new networks and collaborations, and responding to emerging issues in community health.

Keywords: Evaluation, Community Health Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was Co-PI or PI on a multi-year, statewide evaluation of New Mexico's 32 county-based health councils. I have a long standing interest and experience in community-based research and evaluation.
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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