Social Enterprise and Public Procurement Opportunities

These slides are from our 2016 national conference, A Nation That Works: What's It Going to Take? Many social enterprises earn revenue through contracts with state and local governments. Those contracts can be very competitive, and governments' selection processes typically don't account for the ways in which hiring social enterprises can produce additional public benefits. This session will explore the policy opportunities to position social enterprises as qualified competitive bidders for public procurement and contracts and offer two successful models of working with State and local government. Attendees will also learn about the future of California's SB 1219 Employment Social Enterprise, the first statewide piece of legislation certifying social enterprise and granting public procurement and contract preferences similar to those of small business and disabled veteran business enterprises. SB1219 passed the California state Senate and Assembly without opposition, and is currently awaiting the Governor's signature

The WISEWOMAN Program: Reflection and Forecast

The WISEWOMAN program targets low-income under- and uninsured women aged 40–64 years for screening and interventions aimed at reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases. The program enters its third phase on June 30, 2008. Design issues and results from Phase I and Phase II have been published in a series of papers. We summarize remaining challenges, which were identified through systematic research and evaluation. Phase III will address these challenges through a number of new initiatives such as allowing interventions of different intensities, taking advantage of resources for promoting community health, and providing evidence-based interventions through the program's Center of Excellence. Finally, we provide a framework and vision so that organizational, community, and other partners can make the case for the importance of the program to their communities and for what is needed to make it work

Designing community-based health programs to address the needs of marginalised and disadvantaged communities

The focus of the visit by Dr Julie Will was to explore evidence based approaches for improving access and equity in primary health care, with a particular emphasis on preventing and managing chronic conditions and health problems of people who are unemployed. Dr Will is a senior epidemiologist in the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the past 13 years, she served as the WISEWOMAN Team Leader, Acting Team Lead for the Applied Research and Translation Team, and Senior Epidemiologist for Health Services Research and Registry Team.The research reported in this paper is a project of the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute which is supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and

TRA-904: ROAD MORTALITY HOT SPOTS OF TURTLES: A THREE-YEAR MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION STUDY IN BRANT COUNTY, ONTARIO

Road mortality has a significant depressive effect on turtle populations in southern Ontario and mitigation measures to reduce turtle road mortality are therefore increasingly being incorporated into road construction projects in the province. This has included the installation of “ecopassages” beneath roadways which enable turtles and other animals to safely move between habitats. These measures are most effective if they are installed at locations with frequent turtle movement and high road mortality rates. We conducted a detailed multi-seasonal survey of turtle road mortality in order to identify mortality “hot spots” along a 4.85 km stretch of highway in Brant County, Ontario. In total, 122 unique observations of dead turtles of two species (midland painted turtle [Chrysemys picta marginata] and snapping turtle [Chelydra serpentina]) were made. Spatial statistical analysis of mortality data using geographic information system (GIS) software was then used to identify mortality hot spots. These hot spots are being used to determine appropriate locations for installing ecopassages and other mitigation measures to reduce turtle mortality along this stretch of highway

Need for Practice-Based Research in School Administration

Purpose: This article’s first objective is to establish the need for elevating the quantity and quality of practice-based research in school administration. The requirement is addressed in relation to (a) persisting social demands for school reform, (b) heightened demands for evidence-based practice in all professions, and (c) persistent criticisms indicating that field’s knowledge base and practice protocols are fragmented and weak. The second purpose is to propose that the need should be addressed at the level of individual preparation programs; specifically, faculty should assume responsibility for identifying and eradicating barriers to practice-based research. Proposed Conceptual Argument: In the context of an information-based society, practitioners in all professions are expected to access and analyze empirical data when addressing problems and making decisions. In school administration, the failure to respond to this anticipation presents both a social challenge (improving school effectiveness) and a professional challenge (legitimizing the need for practitioners to be licensed), and both are magnified by philosophical and epistemological dissonance among faculty. Implications: Reliance on external accountability in the absence of internal accountability will neither foster school improvement nor build social authority in school administration. Specifically, persistent indifference toward practice-based research and evidence-based practice will fuel doubts about the efficacy of professional administrators and the need to license them

Water security in Africa is gender dependent

A person’s water security is affected by their gender, as is their likelihood to hold decision making positions about this vital resource. To increase water security in the face of a changing climate this must change

Effects of a Tailored Follow-Up Intervention on Health Behaviors, Beliefs, and Attitudes

Background: The high rates of relapse that tend to occur after short-term behavioral interventions indicate the need for maintenance programs that promote long-term adherence to new behavior patterns. Computer-tailored health messages that are mailed to participants or given in brief telephone calls offer an innovative and time-efficient alternative to ongoing face-to-face contact with healthcare providers. Methods: Following a 1-year behavior change program, 22 North Carolina health departments were randomly assigned to a follow-up intervention or control condition. Data were collected from 1999 to 2001 by telephone-administered surveys at preintervention and postintervention for 511 low-income, midlife adult women enrolled in the Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program at local North Carolina health departments. During the year after the behavior change program, intervention participants were mailed six sets of computer-tailored health messages and received two computer-tailored telephone counseling sessions. Main outcomes of dietary and physical activity behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes were measured. Results: Intervention participants were more likely to move forward into more advanced stages of physical activity change (p = 0.02); control participants were more likely to increase their level of dietary social support at follow-up (p = 0.05). Both groups maintained low levels of reported saturated fat and cholesterol intake at follow-up. No changes were seen in physical activity in either group. Conclusions: Mailed computer-tailored health messages and telephone counseling calls favorably modified forward physical activity stage movement but did not appreciably affect any other psychosocial or behavioral outcomes

Provider Counseling, Health Education, and Community Health Workers: The Arizona WISEWOMAN Project

Background: The Arizona Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) project used provider counseling, health education, and community health workers (CHWs) to target chronic disease risk factors in uninsured, primarily Hispanic women over age 50. Methods: Participants were recruited from two Tucson clinics participating in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). Women were randomly assigned into one of three intervention groups: (1) provider counseling, (2) provider counseling and health education, or (3) provider counseling, health education, and CHW support. At baseline and 12 months (1998–2000), participants were measured for height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and blood pressure. Blood tests were conducted to check blood glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. At each time point, participants also completed 24-hour dietary recalls and questionnaires focusing on their physical activity levels. Results: A total of 217 women participated in baseline and 12-month follow-up. Three fourths were Hispanic. All three intervention groups showed an increase in self-reported weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, with no significant differences between the groups. Significantly more women who received the comprehensive intervention of provider counseling, health education, and CHW support progressed to eating five fruits and vegetables per day, compared with participants who received only provider counseling or provider counseling plus health education. Conclusions: All three interventions increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity but not fruit and vegetable consumption. The intervention group with provider counseling, health education, and CHW support significantly increased the number of women meeting national recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption