Michael P. Rosenthal

A randomized controlled trial of the impact of targeted and tailored interventions on colorectal cancer screening.

Colorectal cancer screening is underutilized. The objective of the current study was to determine whether targeted and tailored interventions can increase screening use.

Policy and system change and community coalitions: outcomes from allies against asthma.

OBJECTIVES We assessed policy and system changes and health outcomes produced by the Allies Against Asthma program, a 5-year collaborative effort by 7 community coalitions to address childhood asthma. We also explored associations between community engagement and outcomes. METHODS We interviewed a sample of 1477 parents of children with asthma in coalition target areas and comparison areas at baseline and 1 year to assess quality-of-life and symptom changes. An extensive tracking and documentation procedure and a survey of 284 participating individuals and organizations were used to ascertain policy and system changes and community engagement levels. RESULTS A total of 89 policy and system changes were achieved, ranging from changes in interinstitutional and intrainstitutional practices to statewide legislation. Allies children experienced fewer daytime (P = .008) and nighttime (P = .004) asthma symptoms than comparison children. In addition, Allies parents felt less helpless, frightened, and angry (P = .01) about their childs asthma. Type of community engagement was associated with number of policy and system changes. CONCLUSIONS Community coalitions can successfully achieve asthma policy and system changes and improve health outcomes. Increased core and ongoing community stakeholder participation rather than a higher overall number of participants was associated with more change.

From Formation to Action: How Allies Against Asthma Coalitions Are Getting the Job Done

Coalitions develop in and recycle through stages. At each stage (formation, implementation, maintenance, and institutionalization), certain factors enhance coalition function, accomplishment of tasks, and progression to the next stage. The Allies Against Asthma coalitions assessed stages of development through annual member surveys, key informant interviews of 16 leaders from each site, and other evaluation tools. Results indicate all coalitions completed formation and implementation, six achieved maintenance, and five are in the institutionalization stage. Differences among coalitions can be attributed to their maturity and experience working within a coalition framework. Participants agreed that community mobilization around asthma would not have happened without coalitions. They attributed success to being responsive to community needs and developing comprehensive strategies, and they believed that partners’ goals were more innovative and achievable than any institution could have created alone.

Cost-effectiveness of targeted and tailored interventions on colorectal cancer screening use.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is cost‐effective but underused. The objective of this study was to determine the cost‐effectiveness of targeted and tailored behavioral interventions to increase CRC screening use by conducting an economic analysis associated with a randomized trial among patients in a large, racially and ethnically diverse, urban family practice in Philadelphia.

The Coalition Process at Work: Building Care Coordination Models to Control Chronic Disease

Asthma is a highly prevalent and frequently misunderstood chronic disease with significant morbidity. Integrating client services at the patient-centered level and using coalitions to build coordinated, linked systems to affect care may improve outcomes. All seven Allies Against Asthma coalitions identified inefficient, inconsistent, and/or fragmented care as issues for their communities. In response, the coalitions employed a collaborative process to identify and address problems related to system fragmentation and to improve coordination of care. Each coalition developed a variety of interventions related to its specific needs and assets, stakeholders, stage of coalition formation, and the dynamic structure of its community. Despite common barriers in forming alliances with busy providers and their staff, organizing administrative structures among interinstitutional cultures, enhancing patient and/or family involvement, interacting with multiple insurers, and contending with health system inertia, the coalitions demonstrated the ability to produce coordinated improvements to existing systems of care.

Balancing “Fidelity” and Community Context in the Adaptation of Asthma Evidence-Based Interventions in the “Real World”

The Merck Childhood Asthma Network (MCAN) initiative selected five sites (New York City, Puerto Rico, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia) to engage in translational research to adapt evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to improve childhood asthma outcomes. The authors summarize the sites’ experience by describing criteria defining the fidelity of translation, community contextual factors serving as barriers or enablers to fidelity, types of adaptation conducted, and strategies used to balance contextual factors and fidelity in developing a “best fit” for EBIs in the community. A conceptual model captures important structural and process-related factors and helps frame lessons learned. Site implementers and intervention developers reached consensus on qualitative rankings of the levels of fidelity of implementation for each of the EBI core components: low fidelity, adaptation (major vs. minor), or high fidelity. MCAN sites were successful in adapting core EBI components based on their understanding of structural and other contextual barriers and enhancers in their communities. Although the sites varied regarding both the EBI components they implemented and their respective levels of fidelity, all sites observed improvement in asthma outcomes. Our collective experiences of adapting and implementing asthma EBIs highlight many of the factors affecting translation of evidenced-based approaches to chronic disease management in real community settings.

Integrating Asthma Prevention and Control: the Roles of the Coalition

Activities addressing pediatric asthma are often fragmented. Allies coalitions promoted integration, the alignment of concurrent asthma control activities across and within sectors. Systems integration describes activities from an organizational perspective. Activities included developing a shared vision, promoting consistency in asthma education and self-management support, improving adherence to clinical guidelines, advocating jointly for policy change, and seeking funds collaboratively. Service integration describes activities focused on ensuring seamless, comprehensive services through coordination within and across organizations. Activities included use of community health workers (CHWs) and nurses for care coordination, program cross-referral, and clinical quality improvement. Integration is a sustainable role for coalitions as it requires fewer resources than service delivery and results in institutionalization of system changes. Organizations that seek integration of asthma control may benefit.

Community-Based Care Coordination Practical Applications for Childhood Asthma

Care coordination programs have been used to address chronic illnesses, including childhood asthma, but primarily via practice-based models. An alternative approach employs community-based care coordinators who bridge gaps between families, health care providers, and support services. Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc. (MCAN) sites developed community-based care coordination approaches for childhood asthma. Using a community-based care coordination logic model, programs at each site are described along with program operational statistics. Four sites used three to four community health workers (CHWs) to provide care coordination, whereas one site used five school-based asthma nurses. This school-based site had the highest caseload (82.5 per year), but program duration was 3 months with 4 calls or visits. Other sites averaged fewer cases (35 to 61 per CHW per year), but families received more (7 to 17) calls or visits over a year. Retention was 43% to 93% at 6 months and 24% to 75% at 12 months. Pre–post cross-site data document changes in asthma management behaviors and outcomes. After program participation, 93% to 100% of caregivers had confidence in controlling their child’s asthma, 85% to 92% had taken steps to reduce triggers, 69% to 100% had obtained an asthma action plan, and 46% to 100% of those with moderate to severe asthma reported appropriate use of controller medication. Emergency department visits for asthma decreased by 36% to 63%, and asthma-related hospitalizations declined by 26% to 78%. More than three fourths had fewer school absences. In conclusion, MCAN community-based care coordination programs improved management behaviors and decreased morbidity across all sites.

The Child Asthma Link Line: a coalition-initiated, telephone-based, care coordination intervention for childhood asthma.

Background. Childhood asthma is a complex chronic disease that poses significant challenges regarding management, and there is evidence of disparities in care. Many medical, psychosocial, and health system factors contribute to recognized poor control of this most prevalent illness among children, with resultant excessive use of emergency departments and hospitalizations for care. Recent national guidelines emphasize the need for community-based initiatives to address these critical issues. To address health system fragmentation and impact asthma outcomes, the Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma coalition developed and implemented the Child Asthma Link Line, a telephone-based care coordination and system integration program, which has been in operation since 2001. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Child Asthma Link Line integration model to improve asthma management by measuring utilization markers of morbidity. Methods. Medicaid Managed Care Organization claims data for 59 children who received the Link Line intervention in 2003 are compared to a matched sample of 236 children who did not receive the Link Line intervention. Children in the two study groups are ages 3 through 12 years and matched on 2003 emergency department visits, age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Primary outcome variables analyzed in this study are emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and office visit claims from the follow-up year (2004). Results. Link Line intervention children were significantly less likely to have follow-up hospitalizations than matched sample children (p = .02). Children enrolled in the Link Line were also more likely to attend outpatient office visits in the follow-up year (p = .045). In addition, Link Line children with multiple emergency department visits in 2003 were significantly less likely to have an emergency department visit in 2004 (p = .046). Conclusion. This coalition-developed, telephone-based, system-level intervention had a significant impact on childhood asthma morbidity as measured by utilization endpoints of follow-up hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Telephone-based care coordination and service integration may be a viable and economic way to impact childhood asthma and other chronic diseases.

Improvements in health care use associated with community coalitions: Long-term results of the allies against asthma initiative

OBJECTIVES We assessed changes in asthma-related health care use by low-income children in communities across the country where 6 Allies Against Asthma coalitions (Hampton Roads, VA; Washington, DC; Milwaukee, WI; King County/Seattle, WA; Long Beach, CA; and Philadelphia, PA) mobilized stakeholders to bring about policy changes conducive to asthma control. METHODS Allies intervention zip codes were matched with comparison communities by median household income, asthma prevalence, total population size, and race/ethnicity. Five years of data provided by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services on hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) use, and physician urgent care visits for children were analyzed. Intervention and comparison sites were compared with a stratified recurrent event analysis using a Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS In most of the assessment years, children in Allies communities were significantly less likely (P < .04) to have an asthma-related hospitalization, ED visit, or urgent care visit than children in comparison communities. During the entire period, children in Allies communities were significantly less likely (P < .02) to have such health care use. CONCLUSIONS Mobilizing a diverse group of stakeholders, and focusing on policy and system changes generated significant reductions in health care use for asthma in vulnerable communities.