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Health Promotion Projects
Evaluation of the Bright Futures Women's Health and Wellness (BFWHW)
In collaboration with the BFWHW staff, Steering Committee, and Executive Management Committee, HSR planned and conducted an evaluation for the Human Resources and Services Administration's Office of Women's Health. The evaluation assessed the initiative's pilot tools for physical activity and healthy eating. In support of the evaluation, HSR successfully provided data collection training, support, and monitoring to selected evaluation sites, and our findings shaped revisions to the pilot materials and identified options for outcome evaluation efforts. Subsequently, HSR received the contract to conduct the intermediate outcome evaluation of the BFWHW physical activity and healthy eating initiative in several diverse clinical and community settings across the country. Results will be presented in a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
National Evaluation of the Bright Futures for Infants, Children and Adolescents Initiative
The Bright Futures Initiative, launched in 1990, aims to improve the quality of health services for children through health promotion and disease prevention. HSR conducted the first national evaluation of the Bright Futures for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau. HSR examined the nature and extent of Bright Futures-related activities through a process evaluation and developed an outcome evaluation plan in collaboration with the Bright Futures Evaluation Workgroup. HSR also conducted a series of case studies exploring how Bright Futures has been used in public child health promotion efforts in seven States. HSR developed a resource guide for States and communities on how to use Bright Futures in their own efforts to improve the health of children and the quality of care they receive. The products of this evaluation are available at:
Evaluation of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau's State Oral Health Collaborative Systems Grant Program (SOHCS)
SOHCS was designed to support State oral health programs and improve the integration of oral health into other systems of care for women and children. HSR's evaluation will assess the progress of 47 grantees who have engaged in continuous activities since the inception of the SOHCS program. Additionally, HSR will study the degree to which the grantees, both individually and collectively, have integrated oral health successfully into existing systems of care. The evaluation will include site visits, phone interviews, literature reviews, the collection of quantitative data, and the development of a database for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Using Geographic Information Systems to Improve Oral Health
Geographic Information Systems technology, also known as GIS, has emerged as a valuable analytic tool to assist public health officials in addressing many of the health care issues faced by Americans today. GIS is used to view and analyze multiple types of data through maps and shows patterns and relationships not immediately seen on spreadsheets, thereby informing plans, programs, and strategies to improve population health. HSR worked with the Association for State and Territorial Dental Directors and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration to broadcast a Web conference in February 2006 to inform the oral health, MCH, and primary care communities about GIS mapping and its use for improving the oral health of children and families in the United States. Titled Improving Oral Health: Using GIS Technology to Target Scarce Resources, this Web conference provides an overview of GIS technology, its role in improving public health, and its capabilities and applications for use at the State and national levels.
The archive of this Web conference is available at:
March of Dimes (MOD) Folic Acid Education Campaign Assessment
Under contract with the national MOD Foundation, HSR conducted an assessment of the role of local MOD chapters, State Folic Acid Councils, and the National Partners Advisory group in the national education campaign to promote appropriate intake of folic acid by women of childbearing age. Findings were used by the MOD to strengthen this and other national education efforts to promote maternal and infant health.
Osteoporosis and Bone Health
HSR supported the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services, in the development of the Surgeon General's report on Osteoporosis and Bone Health. As part of this project, we evaluated efforts to disseminate past Surgeon General and similar reports and developed recommendations for increasing the impact of future Surgeon General reports.
Bright Futures for Infants, Children, and Adolescents Initiative
This effort, launched in 1990 with funding from the MCHB, fosters a developmentally based approach to childhood health promotion and disease prevention in the context of families and communities. In 2002, HSR was awarded a contract to conduct the first national evaluation of Bright Futures. Under this contract, HSR has conducted a large process evaluation to assess Bright Futures-related dissemination, adoption, and practice activities at the national, State, and community levels. HSR also developed an annotated bibliography of Bright Futures materials and collaborated with a group of Bright Futures stakeholders to develop an outcome evaluation plan for this initiative. HSR currently is conducting case studies in six States that are actively using Bright Futures in their child health promotion efforts.
Copies of the process evaluation report and other resources are available at:
Improving Oral Health
With funding from the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), the HSR Health Promotion Team is spearheading a national effort to enable States and communities to better promote the oral health of women and children. The major goals of this multifaceted project are to strengthen the capacity of health professionals in the public and private sectors to initiate and conduct oral health promotion efforts and provide technical assistance relating to oral health systems to States and communities. To inform policy and program development, we are convening expert committees to discuss emerging oral health issues.
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