Assessing stakeholder engagement: An evaluation of the Health and Medical Coordinating Coalitions Planning and Facilitation project

In 2012, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) issued guidance for the establishment of healthcare coalitions, emphasizing these partnerships as integral to emergency preparedness and strategy coordination for an “all-hazard” approach. Responding to changing national priorities and a critical gap in the current system in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPEM) is engaging in a multi-year project to establish six regional multi-disciplinary health and medical coordinating coalitions (HMCC), built around five core disciplines: local public health, hospitals, emergency medical services, community health centers and ambulatory care practices, and long term care. The HMCC will support regional preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts.

OPEM, with support from Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), conducted a series of facilitated, multi-discipline discussions with stakeholders as part of the HMCC planning process. BUSPH partnered with the Institute for Community Health (ICH) to evaluate these facilitation activities. Using a mixed methods approach, ICH assessed outcomes such as knowledge of the HMCC planning process and facilitating factors and barriers faced during the facilitation phase. The data was analyzed aggregately, using descriptive statistics for quantitative items and thematic coding for qualitative.

This presentation will include an overview of the HMCC facilitation process, and outcomes from evaluation activities including in-person structured interviews with key stakeholders and BUSPH staff, post-facilitation meeting surveys, and meeting notes/observations. Lessons learned from this process will be useful for those planning to build similar coalitions to enhance emergency preparedness and response efforts.