OMH Evaluations

Projects in Progress:

Data Analysis and Support for the President's Initiative on Race - This project will identify data sources and data elements for detailed univariate and multi-variate analyses and conduct these analyses to understand the persistent health disparities for racial and ethnic minorities. These analyses will focus particularly on potential areas of discrimination or differential access to services. These efforts addressed a request by the White House for support in the development of a "chart book" on the current state of race relations that formed the introductory chapter(s) of the report by the President's Advisory Board on Race in the Summer of 1998. It facilitated the work of the National Academy of Sciences, which was commissioned by the White House to prepare detailed summaries of the research literature related to race, including health. The project identified relevant Department data systems and performed preliminary analyses which support the community demonstration grant program as part of the Department's Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health.

Development of a Uniform Information/Data Set and Collateral Products for Assessing Impacts of OMH-funded Activities - The purpose of this project is to identify a uniform set of information/data that should be provided by the recipients of OMH funding in order for OMH to be able to demonstrate the "returns for the public's investment" and comply with performance improvement requirements outlined in the GPRA. A comprehensive analysis of past and current OMH funded activities, including OMH grant programs, cooperative agreements, and personal services contracts will be conducted to determine the current types of information/data collected and available from them. From that analysis, a uniform set of information/data elements will be developed that OMH grantees/ partners could be encouraged to collect for Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) and OMH GPRA performance measurement purposes. A project advisory group of Federal and non-Federal individuals will be used. The project will include, but is not limited to, examinations of the findings of the recently completed evaluation of OMH's Bilingual/Bicultural Services Demonstration Program; work being done within OMH to develop a statistical data progress report; and the related experiences and successes of other HHS entities, with the goal of building upon these efforts rather than "reinventing the wheel." OMH anticipates that, as a result of this effort, it will be able to implement a process for obtaining the data/ information necessary to demonstrate that the various grant/funded programs supported by OMH make a difference that matters to and resonates with policy and budget decision makers. Collateral technical assistance documents related to the uniform data/information set will also be developed.

Projects Completed:

Assessment of State Minority Health Infrastructure and Capacity to Address Issues of Health Disparity - In September 1998, OMH initiated a study to assess the nature and extent of the minority health infrastructure in nine States and the capacity of States to address issues of health disparity. The purpose of the project included, but was not limited to: assessing the nature and extent of State efforts to eliminate health disparities, especially among racial and ethnic groups, in support of the President's Initiative on Race and the HHS Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health; determining the viability and effects of dedicated minority health entities on State capacity and efforts to "close the gap" in racial and ethnic disparities in health; and identifying those factors that contribute to or detract from the establishment and sustained support for minority health entities at the State level.

In each of the eight States and one territory in the study, site visits and in-depth interviews with key informants - including State legislators, health administrators, program directors, and community-based organizations - were conducted. OMH's crosscutting and priority health issue areas were used as a basis for investigating the kinds of activities underway at the State level to address health disparities and to facilitate discussions regarding the factors that promote or hinder attention to such disparities. The crosscutting issue areas were access to care, data, health professions development, and cultural competency; the priority health issue areas were cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, chemical dependency, diabetes, violence, infant mortality, and HIV/AIDS.

The study's findings indicate that: (1) the study sites lack data on the health status of all racial and ethnic minorities; (2) minority health entities who have longstanding membership in OMH's national Minority Health Network, and participate regularly in OMH conferences, receive valuable information on how to develop and promote strategies designed to eliminate health disparities; (3) most if not all minority health entities (newly established as well as those that are older) and relevant State health agencies could benefit from technical assistance on effective or promising strategies for eliminating health disparities; (4) minority health concerns usually cross State boundaries and are often regional in nature (for instance, concern about the high incidence of stroke in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia—an area known as the "stroke belt" of the South); (5) the primary responsibility for providing health care to Native Americans who are members of federally recognized tribes belongs to the Indian Health Service (IHS), and that, in many instances, the services are administered by the tribes, however, State health departments and nonprofit groups provide some health care as well to Native Americans who are members of federally recognized tribes—to Native Americans living on or near Tribal lands, as well as to those living elsewhere; and (6) the availability of resources devoted to addressing minority health disparities plays a large role in the extent that a State's infrastructure can develop services for racial and ethnic minorities. It will be difficult for states to achieve the Healthy People 2010 goal of eliminating health disparities along racial and ethnic lines if, at the federal, State and local levels, little or no attention is given to identifying, monitoring, and addressing these disparities.

Strategies were recommended that could, if addressed in their entirety, lead to substantial improvements in efforts at the State level to address racial and ethnic health disparities. These recommended strategies include: collection, tracking and dissemination of data; improving inter-and intra-organizational collaborations related to minority health; technical assistance to improve State health infrastructures; and funding for minority health initiatives at the State and local levels.

Evaluation of the OMH Resource Center - The purpose of this project was to implement a Customer Satisfaction Survey that was designed to evaluate the extent to which the Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC) is reaching objectives that were established by the OMH when the Center was formalized. Objectives for the OMHRC were to: (1) Collect and maintain information on minority health resources available from federal, State, and local organizations, (2) Foster relationships and form partnerships with health professionals, health organizations, and others interested in minority health, and (3) Facilitate the exchange of minority health information with emphasis on health promotion, disease prevention, and health education.

An analysis of the Customer Satisfaction Survey results found an overwhelming majority of inquirers (more than 96 percent) appreciated materials and referrals from the Resource Center. Although differences were small (usually between 2-6 percent), Westerners appreciated OMHRC services less than Easterners. Westerners were less likely to find expert referrals useful, use the toll-free telephone service, find requested information being delivered timely, and use the Resource Center again. This study found that Westerners expected less, and received less, from the Resource Center than Easterners. The source of this difference was traced to the Resource Center being placed and operated within East Coast time. Westerners were limited to five hours of personal contact, during the OMHRC business day. OMH will use these findings to establish a set of recommended program improvements, that target Westerners and populations that comprise the smaller percentage of its user base (e.g., A/PI, American Indians, and health care professions). Budget increases and re-evaluation of programmatic activities will be pursued accordingly.