Innovative Approaches to Creating a Public Health System Dynamics Model in Mesa County, CO

About 80% of the factors affecting health outcomes lay outside of the domain of traditional clinical care.1 Public Health 3.0, the next level of public health practice, expands the reach of public health practitioners to address upstream factors traditionally outside the scope of health initiatives, such as housing affordability and educational attainment.2 Public Health 3.0 calls upon local health departments (LHDs) to be the core of this effort by creating impactful change through intentional cross-sectoral collaborations.2 The Resilience Catalyst (RC) program, designed by the Center for Community Resilience at the George Washington University, is being used to guide Public Health 3.0 implementation in Mesa County, Colorado, one of nine sites. The RC program uses a participatory approach to identify an adversity focus area, the systems associated with it, and determine an implementation plan for working with community partners. Since health is an outcome of complex combination of systems, a key component to the RC program is the creation of a local system dynamics model (SDM) to highlight interaction between factors affecting human health.3 The SDM is used to inform strategies for community action and policy change

Building capacity for dissemination and implementation research: One university’s experience

Abstract Background While dissemination and implementation (D&I) science has grown rapidly, there is an ongoing need to understand how to build and sustain capacity in individuals and institutions conducting research. There are three inter-related domains for capacity building: people, settings, and activities. Since 2008, Washington University in St. Louis has dedicated significant attention and resources toward building D&I research capacity. This paper describes our process, challenges, and lessons with the goal of informing others who may have similar aims at their own institution. Activities An informal collaborative, the Washington University Network for Dissemination and Implementation Research (WUNDIR), began with a small group and now has 49 regular members. Attendees represent a wide variety of settings and content areas and meet every 6 weeks for half-day sessions. A logic model organizes WUNDIR inputs, activities, and outcomes. A mixed-methods evaluation showed that the network has led to new professional connections and enhanced skills (e.g., grant and publication development). As one of four, ongoing, formal programs, the Dissemination and Implementation Research Core (DIRC) was our first major component of D&I infrastructure. DIRC’s mission is to accelerate the public health impact of clinical and health services research by increasing the engagement of investigators in later stages of translational research. The aims of DIRC are to advance D&I science and to develop and equip researchers with tools for D&I research. As a second formal component, the Washington University Institute for Public Health has provided significant support for D&I research through pilot projects and a small grants program. In a third set of formal programs, two R25 training grants (one in mental health and one in cancer) support post-doctoral scholars for intensive training and mentoring in D&I science. Finally, our team coordinates closely with D&I functions within research centers across the university. We share a series of challenges and potential solutions. Conclusion Our experience in developing D&I research at Washington University in St. Louis shows how significant capacity can be built in a relatively short period of time. Many of our ideas and ingredients for success can be replicated, tailored, and improved upon by others

Raise Your Profile: Build Your Program

To raise the library\u27s profile within the campus community, it is critical to create a strategic plan and align library goals with those of the university. At George Washington University\u27s Gelman Library, the instruction librarians gained internal and external support to hire two new instruction librarians to better support collaboration with the new university writing program. The library then used assessment data to successfully advocate for an additional two positions

Team-Based Competencies: Building a Shared Foundation for Education and Clinical Practice

Highlights discussions from a February 2011 conference on the need for collaborative health care, factors supporting and restraining change, and strategies for advancing interprofessional collaboration in education and practice

Gateway to College: Lessons from Implementing a Rigorous Academic Program for At-Risk Young People

Despite efforts to improve the high school graduation rate in the United States, an estimated 7,200 students drop out of high school every day -- a staggering 1.3 million every year. Further, a recent report by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University projects that by 2020, nearly 65 percent of U.S. jobs will require at least some college education, out of reach for those who are unable to earn a high school diploma. Much more comprehensive alternative education programs are needed that put dropouts and students at risk of dropping out on a path to earn high school diplomas while also providing them with the academic skills and support necessary to be successful in their postsecondary pursuits

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998: A Primer for People with Disabilities

The primer outlines the various componenets of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). It also suggests ways that people with disabilities can fully access WIA systems and services.The report was prepared for the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities and funded by the United States Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Community Health Centers: The Challenge of Growing to Meet the Need for Primary Care in Medically Underserved Communities

Provides an overview of community health centers, their patients, and recent federal and state funding cuts, as well as funding prospects for the centers' expansion to meet greater demand among patients newly eligible for Medicaid or private coverage

A Handbook of Data Collection Tools: Companion to "A Guide to Measuring Advocacy and Policy"

This handbook of data collection tools is intended to serve as a companion to A Guide to Measuring Advocacy and Policy. Organizational Research Services (ORS) developed this guide on behalf of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to support efforts to develop and implement an evaluation of advocacy and policy work. The companion handbook is dedicated to providing examples of practical tools and processes for collecting useful information from policy and advocacy efforts. Included within this handbook are a legislative process tracking log, a meeting observation checklist, a policy brief stakeholder survey, a policy tracking analysis tool, and a policy tracking form.This best practice provides an approach to measure advocacy and policy change efforts, starting with a theory of change, identifying outcome categories, and selecting practical approaches to measurement