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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Access to Care (2)
- Ambulatory Care and Surgery (1)
- Behavioral Health (2)
- Children/Adolescents (3)
- (-) Community-Based Practice (12)
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (1)
- (-) Healthcare Delivery (12)
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- Rural/Inner-City Residents (1)
- Screening (1)
- Social Determinants of Health (4)
- Uninsured (1)
- Urban Health (2)
- Vulnerable Populations (1)
- Workflow (1)
AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 12 of 12 Research Studies DisplayedLopez JM, Wing H, Ackerman SL
Community health center staff perspectives on financial payments for social care.
The purpose of this study was to examine how community health center (CHC) staff perceive the current and potential influence of fee-for-service payments on clinical teams' engagement in these activities. The researchers interviewed 42 clinicians, frontline staff, and administrative leaders employed by12 Oregon CHC clinical sites about their social care initiatives. The study grouped the findings into three categories: 1. participants' awareness of existing or anticipated financial incentives, 2. uses for incentive dollars, and 3. perceived impact of financial incentives on social care activities in clinical practices. Current or anticipated important uses for incentive dollars included paying for social care staff, providing social services, and supporting additional fundraising efforts. Frontline staff reported that the strongest influence on clinic social care practices was the ability to provide responsive social services. Clinic leaders reported that for financial incentives to significantly change CHC practices would necessitate payments large enough to expand the social care workforce as well.
AHRQ-funded; HS026435.
Citation: Lopez JM, Wing H, Ackerman SL .
Community health center staff perspectives on financial payments for social care.
Milbank Q 2023 Dec; 101(4):1304-26. doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.12667..
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Payment, Healthcare Delivery
Beidler LB, Fichtenberg C, Fraze TK
"Because there's experts that do that": lessons learned by health care organizations when partnering with community organizations.
This study’s goal was to understand how health care organizations interact with community-based organizations (CBOs) to implement social care. The authors conducted 33 semi-structured telephone interviews with administrators at 29 diverse health care organizations with active programming from April to July 2019. The majority (26 out of 29) of organizations relied on CBOs to improve their patients’ social needs. Three main themes emerged: 1) One-way referrals to CBOs did not require formal relationships or frequent interactions with CBOs; 2) When health care organizations contracted with CBOs to deliver discrete services, leadership-level relationships were required to launch programs while staff-to-staff interactions were used to maintain programs; and 3) Some health care organizations engaged in community-level activities with multiple CBOs which required more expansive, ongoing leadership-level partnerships. There were 4 recommendations highlighted by administrators for collaborating with CBOs: (1) engage early; (2) establish shared purpose for the collaboration; (3) determine who is best suited to lead activities; and (4) avoid making assumptions about partner organizations.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Beidler LB, Fichtenberg C, Fraze TK .
"Because there's experts that do that": lessons learned by health care organizations when partnering with community organizations.
J Gen Intern Med 2023 Nov; 38(15):3348-54. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08308-y..
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Delivery
Kang-Yi CD, Kuriyan A, Kinkler G
Generating actionable evidence for school-based mental health service delivery: public-academic partnership based evaluations.
This paper reported the key findings of evaluations of Philadelphia's school mental health programs reimbursable through Medicaid billing since 2008. The evaluations included acute mental health service use of children who received school-based care and Medicaid expenditure, children's behaviors to measure school mental health providers' performance, and effects of school mental health programs on children's behavioral health functioning, school outcomes, and other service usage. The paper discussed how programs have been refined based on evaluation results, and shared lessons learned for successful public-academic partnership-based evaluations.
AHRQ-funded; HS026862.
Citation: Kang-Yi CD, Kuriyan A, Kinkler G .
Generating actionable evidence for school-based mental health service delivery: public-academic partnership based evaluations.
Community Ment Health J 2023 Nov; 59(8):1588-600. doi: 10.1007/s10597-023-01147-5..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Healthcare Delivery, Community-Based Practice
Shi M, Fiori K, Kim RS
Social needs assessment and linkage to community health workers in a large urban hospital system.
The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of successful linkage with a community health worker (CHW) in patients with social needs. The researchers utilized a cross-sectional analysis of social needs assessments administered in an urban health system between April 2018 and December 2019. Social needs in the study included safety, getting along with household members, housing quality, housing instability, food insecurity, care for dependents, healthcare cost, healthcare related transportation, utilities, and legal assistance. Patients were entered into a separate database when they encountered a CHW. The main outcome was a successful "linkage," which was defined as having a positive social needs assessment in the medical record with a corresponding record in the CHW database. The study found that 25% of patients with at least 1 social need accepting help were linked to a CHW. Positive predictors included female gender, Spanish language preference compared to English, and having a food-related need. Negative predictors included age 18 to 65 and 0 to 5 compared to over 65, non-Hispanic White race compared to Hispanic race, and having needs of getting along with household members and safety.
AHRQ-funded; HS026396.
Citation: Shi M, Fiori K, Kim RS .
Social needs assessment and linkage to community health workers in a large urban hospital system.
J Prim Care Community Health 2023 Jan-Dec; 14:21501319231166918. doi: 10.1177/21501319231166918..
Keywords: Urban Health, Healthcare Delivery, Social Determinants of Health, Community-Based Practice, Rural/Inner-City Residents
Safon CB, Estela MG, Rosenberg J
Implementation of a novel pediatric behavioral health integration initiative.
The purpose of this concurrent, qualitative-dominant mixed methods empirical study was to explore healthcare professionals' perceptions of the impact of behavioral health integration (BHI) on pediatric primary care delivery in community health centers (CHCs). The researchers utilized semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals at the end of the implementation phase of a 3-year process and surveys administered at three time points. Qualitative themes were mapped onto the Relational Coordination (RC) conceptual framework to triangulate and complement final qualitative results with quantitative results. The researchers round five emergent themes aligning with RC domains. The results of the survey showed that healthcare professionals reported both greater behavioral healthcare integration into clinic practice and greater clinic readiness to address behavioral health needs. The researchers concluded that effective pediatric BHI and care delivery at CHCs may depend on solid professional relationships and communication.
AHRQ-funded; HS022242.
Citation: Safon CB, Estela MG, Rosenberg J .
Implementation of a novel pediatric behavioral health integration initiative.
J Behav Health Serv Res 2023 Jan;50(1):1-17. doi: 10.1007/s11414-022-09803-6..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Healthcare Delivery, Primary Care, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Community-Based Practice
Kaufman A, Dickinson WP, Fagnan LJ
The role of health extension in practice transformation and community health improvement: lessons from 5 case studies.
The states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Colorado, and Washington stand out in stretching the boundaries of health extension; their stories reveal lessons learned regarding the successes and challenges. All states saw the need for long-term, sustained fundraising beyond grants in an environment expecting a short-term return on investment, and they were challenged operating in a shifting health system landscape where the creativity and personal relationships built with small primary care practices was hindered when these practices were purchased by larger health delivery systems.
AHRQ-funded; HS020890; HS020972; HS23904; HS023908.
Citation: Kaufman A, Dickinson WP, Fagnan LJ .
The role of health extension in practice transformation and community health improvement: lessons from 5 case studies.
Ann Fam Med 2019 Aug 12;17(Suppl 1):S67-s72. doi: 10.1370/afm.2409..
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Health Services Research (HSR), Healthcare Delivery, Organizational Change, Primary Care, Social Determinants of Health, Practice Improvement
Huguet N, Valenzuela S, Marino M
Following uninsured patients through Medicaid expansion: ambulatory care use and diagnosed conditions.
The authors assessed ambulatory care use and diagnosed health conditions among a cohort of community health center (CHC) patients uninsured before enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and followed them after enactment. They found that, post-ACA, 20.9% of patients remained uninsured, 15.0% gained Medicaid, 12.4% gained other insurance, and 51.7% did not have a visit. The authors concluded that a significant percentage of CHC patients remained uninsured; that many who remained uninsured had diagnosed health conditions; and that one-half continued to have three or more visits to CHCs, which continue to be essential providers for uninsured patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS024270.
Citation: Huguet N, Valenzuela S, Marino M .
Following uninsured patients through Medicaid expansion: ambulatory care use and diagnosed conditions.
Ann Fam Med 2019 Jul;17(4):336-44. doi: 10.1370/afm.2385..
Keywords: Access to Care, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Community-Based Practice, Health Insurance, Healthcare Delivery, Medicaid, Policy, Uninsured
Trinacty CM, LaWall E, Ashton M
Adding social determinants in the electronic health record in clinical care in Hawai'i: supporting community-clinical linkages in patient care.
Given its distinctive history, culture, and location, Hawai'i has unique social factors impacting population health. Local health systems are striving to address these issues to meet their patients' health needs. Yet the evidence on precisely how health care systems and communities may work together to achieve these goals are limited both generally and specifically in the Hawai'i context. This article described real-world efforts by 3 local health care delivery systems that integrated the identification of social needs into clinical care using the electronic health record (EHR).
AHRQ-funded; HS023185.
Citation: Trinacty CM, LaWall E, Ashton M .
Adding social determinants in the electronic health record in clinical care in Hawai'i: supporting community-clinical linkages in patient care.
Hawaii J Med Public Health 2019 Jun;78(6 Suppl 1):46-51..
Keywords: Social Determinants of Health, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Delivery, Vulnerable Populations
Lyles CR, Handley MA, Ackerman SL
Innovative implementation studies conducted in US safety net health care settings: a systematic review.
This systematic review examined innovation/implementation studies conducted in US safety net health care settings, including community clinics or integrated safety net systems. Most of the innovations were internally developed which created more acceptability among staff/providers, higher leadership involvement, and greater amounts of customization.
AHRQ-funded; HS022047.
Citation: Lyles CR, Handley MA, Ackerman SL .
Innovative implementation studies conducted in US safety net health care settings: a systematic review.
Am J Med Qual 2019 May/Jun;34(3):293-306. doi: 10.1177/1062860618798469..
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Delivery
Timbie JW, Kranz AM, Mahmud A
Specialty care access for Medicaid enrollees in expansion states.
The goal of this study was to assess current levels of difficulty accessing specialty care for patients at community health centers (CHCs) by insurance type, in order to identify specific barriers and the strategies that CHCs use to overcome these barriers. A cross-sectional survey was administered to medical directors at CHCs in nine states as well as the District of Columbia, all of which had expanded Medicaid. Among the barriers reported by CHCs were few specialists in Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) networks accepting new patients and MCO administrative requirements for obtaining specialist consults. Strategies to enhance access to specialists included entering into referral agreements, developing appointment reminder systems, and participation in data exchange and other community-based initiatives. The authors conclude that payment policies and network adequacy rules may need to be reexamined to address these challenges.
AHRQ-funded; HS024067.
Citation: Timbie JW, Kranz AM, Mahmud A .
Specialty care access for Medicaid enrollees in expansion states.
Am J Manag Care 2019 Mar;25(3):e83-e87..
Keywords: Access to Care, Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Delivery, Medicaid
Fiori K, Patel M, Sanderson D
From policy statement to practice: integrating social needs screening and referral assistance with community health workers in an urban academic health center.
The authors described their experience implementing a novel social needs screening program at an academic pediatric clinic. They found that, on average, 76% of providers had their patients screened on more than half of eligible well-child visits. Their experience suggested that screening for social needs at well-child visits is feasible as part of routine primary care. They recommended that success would best be achieved by leveraging resources, obtaining provider buy-in, and defining program components to sustain activities.
AHRQ-funded; HS026396.
Citation: Fiori K, Patel M, Sanderson D .
From policy statement to practice: integrating social needs screening and referral assistance with community health workers in an urban academic health center.
J Prim Care Community Health 2019 Jan-Dec;10:2150132719899207. doi: 10.1177/2150132719899207..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Delivery, Implementation, Screening, Social Determinants of Health, Urban Health, Workflow, Primary Care
Laiteerapong N, Kirby J, Gao Y
AHRQ Author: Kirby J, Ngo-Metzger Q
Health care utilization and receipt of preventive care for patients seen at federally funded health centers compared to other sites of primary care.
The investigators compared utilization and preventive care receipt among patients of federal Section 330 health centers (HCs) versus patients of other settings. They found that HC patients had fewer office visits and hospitalizations, were more likely to receive breast cancer screening, had fewer outpatient and emergency room visits, and were more likely to receive dietary advice compared to non-HC patients.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Laiteerapong N, Kirby J, Gao Y .
Health care utilization and receipt of preventive care for patients seen at federally funded health centers compared to other sites of primary care.
Health Serv Res 2014 Oct;49(5):1498-518. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12178.
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Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Healthcare Utilization, Prevention, Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Delivery