How Could Indiana Access Benefit a Community?
How Could Indiana Access Benefit a Community?Identifying & Addressing Health Disparities
Experience and recent research reveal that inattention to barriers such as a lack of provider understanding, a previously bad experience with the health care system or poor provider/patient communications can play an important role in deterring many women and children from receiving necessary health care. The problem disproportionately affects poor and minority populations with at least two-thirds of infant deaths and other poor birth outcomes occurring in low-income and minority families.
- Indiana Access...
Achieves its objectives by utilizing a unique combination of community coalition building, training and technical assistance, along with a rigorous evaluation process. The program identifies key factors contributing to health disparities and seeks to develop and implement important changes in the way maternal and child health care is delivered to under-served and disadvantaged families.
Provides a unique opportunity to gather new data including:
Extensive face-to-face interviews with more than 1,000 consumers.
Focus groups comprised of at-risk and under-served individuals.Discussions with residents of high-risk communities.
These multiple research and evaluation methods result in a more extensive analysis of the way in which changes to the delivery of health care impact consumers who utilize these services.
- Indiana Access assists health care delivery systems, institutions and staff in collaborating with community residents and institutional stakeholders from the public and private sectors to:
- Provide a consistent quality of care that doesn't vary due to personal characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, geographic location and socioeconomic status.
- Provide care that is respectful and responsive to individual preferences, needs and values.
- Training & Technical Assistance
- Indiana Access offers a highly regarded organizational cultural change and technical assistance curriculum to:
- Support the clinic staff in delivering direct health care services to meet the initiative's goals and values, such as treating women and families with dignity, respect, compassion, courtesy, competency and efficiency.
- This curriculum is based on the principles of "facilitative" training that emphasize staff centeredness; direct experience; current assets; collaborative teamwork; and interdependence of roles and responsibilities.
- Since 2004, this curriculum has been developed and delivered to four Indianapolis-based community health centers: Fores Manor, Southeast, Westside and Peoples.
- In May 2006, the entire Marion County WIC Program staff began participating in this unique training process that turns through the end of 2007.
- In July 2006, a leadership team assembled to plan the delivery of Indiana Access training in Elkhart county. Three local health and human service organizations serve as lead agencies: Heart City Health Center, the Healthy Beginnings program of Elkhart County Health Department andChild and Parent Services. The effort continues through September 2007 and is supported by theElkhart County United Wayas part of its "Families First" initiative.
- Overview of curriculum (coming soon)
- Marketing strategies that are customer-focused and data driven will help meet and exceed the needs of our customers. It is vital that we understand our health care "customers" needs and then ensure that our delivery system fits their needs so they are fully satisfied.
- Applying the evaluation process and identified "model practices" can help organizations better meet the needs of their customers and increase the utilization of needed services. At the heart of the Initiative is establishing a long term, positive, reciprocal relationship between providers and consumers, consistent with the concept of the "medical home" and the principles of patient and relationship-centered care.
Workforce Development
Workforce issues are one of the primary challenges that face human service agencies in their effort to deliver quality services. The quality of service delivery depends on workforce stability, professional education and training, and employee motivation. The health care workforce and its ability to deliver quality care for racial and ethnic minorities can be significantly improved through appropriate education. In light of the increasing racial and ethnic diversity in Indiana, developing and implementing effective training programs for health care providers is an essential key intervention strategy in reducing health care disparities.Improving Social Marketing
Positioning Indiana as a National Leader
Indiana Access has emerged as a national leader in partnering with community organizations and health care consumers; collecting, presenting and using customer data to make needed changes in public policy and health care practices; and developing and delivering a unique training program to front line staff to help them better address patients' needs. Various aspects of Indiana Access were featured during a number of statewide and national conferences, as well as in publications.
