Monitoring the Health Care Safety Net

Slide Presentation by Joel Cantor

On September 24, 2003, Joel Cantor made a presentation in the Web-Assisted Audioconference entitled Monitoring the Health Care Safety Net: Doing Your Own Survey.

This is the text version of Mr. Cantor's slide presentation. Select to access the PowerPoint® slides (137 KB).

Doing Your Own Survey

Joel Cantor
Professor and Director
Rutgers Center for State Health Policy
September 24, 2003

Slide 1

Should you conduct a local survey?

• Existing sources do not meet local needs
• Check federal, state, and local sources
• Surveys can be extrapolated to local areas
• Useful for engaging stakeholders
• Locale-specific questions
• Population can provide needed information
• Sufficient resources (time & $) are available

Slide 2

Set Clear Objectives: Some Examples

• Measure access to primary care.
• Assess satisfaction.
• Assess cultural and linguistic competency.
• Determine timeliness of referrals for specialty care.
• Assess adequacy of the supply of basic health services for the uninsured.

Slide 3

The Questionnaire

• Refer to your survey objectives early & often
• Use previously tested questions
• Writing good questions is hard
• Can provide benchmarks
• Some good sources...
• Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey
• Coordinated State Coverage Survey (SHADAC)

Slide 4

Safety Net Survey Topics: Some Examples

• Coverage
• Health status
• Access barriers
• Utilization
• Usual source of care
• Attitudes
• Jobs & employer characteristics
• Socio-economic status and education
• Demographics & language

Slide 5

Other Important Considerations

• Sampling strategy and size
• Confidentiality
• Follow-up strategies
• Interview mode (phone, in-person, mail)
• Interviewer selection and training
• Data management, editing, analysis
• Reporting findings

Slide 6

Potential Pitfalls

• Not working closely with the community
• Running out of money, time, or steam
• Not enough development time
• Data quality & sampling problems
• Lack of focus on how the data will be used
• Not enough emphasis on analysis and reporting

Current as of February 2004

Internet Citation:

Monitoring the Health Care Safety Net: Doing Your Own Survey. Text Version of a Slide Presentation at a Web-assisted Audioconference. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/ulp/safetynetaud/sess2/cantortxt.htm

Return to Audioconference
State & Local Policymakers
AHRQ Home Page