Translating the Public Health Action Plan
Into Action

Guidance for Task Groups
Task 5(a): Evaluating Impact

Evaluating Impact (a)

Action: Bring key partners and stakeholders together to address gaps in heart disease and stroke-related data systems.

Task: Identify data requirements and gaps and propose remedies to insure optimum data collection, management, and reporting.

Outcome, April 2005: Present proposals for improving heart disease and stroke–related health data systems.

Rationale

To implement the Action Plan by addressing the need for improved cardiovascular health data systems. Such improvements are needed both to monitor more adequately the burden and disparities attributable to heart disease and stroke in the population as a whole and to evaluate the impact of preventive programs and policies.

What Success Will Look Like

Proposals for improved data systems will include an inventory of the relevant existing data sources (e.g., those relating to cardiovascular events and conditions, risk factors, behaviors, underlying determinants, and current practices, programs, and policies) and their principal collective strengths and limitations; a listing of the most critical data elements that are lacking (e.g., incidence of heart disease and stroke, incidence of risk factors, estimates based on adequate sample sizes for population subgroups, etc.); and a proposed approach to filling these gaps (e.g., by strengthening existing systems or creating new ones (e.g., building in longitudinal components of NHANES, BRFSS, or YRBS, increasing sample sizes in existing surveys, or establishing comprehensive surveillance of quality of life, events, risk factors, treatments, and other elements, in multiple sentinel communities). Additional considerations include estimated resource requirements (e.g., budget, personnel, training) for effective implementation and utilization of the enhanced data systems that are proposed. Finally, strategies to achieve implementation of the needed improvements should be addressed.

This Task in the Larger Picture

This specific evaluating task is shown in the attached summary. The many potential links with the other themes of the Action Plan are illustrated by the following:

• Effective communication: Moving beyond the conventional age–standardized mortality data as a measure of disease burden.  For example, by using age–specific incidence and quality of life data for each major stratum of the population, can help in communicating the importance, urgency, and potential measurable impact of heart disease and stroke prevention.
   
• Strategic leadership, partnerships, and organization: Improved data systems and use can make leadership more compelling, partnerships more concretely focused on outcomes, and organizations more accountable for effectiveness of policies and programs.
   
• Taking action: Priorities for policies and programs can be defined better when the data needed are available and used in a timely and effective manner. The data will shape the Healthy People 2020 objectives, which will advance beyond those for 2010. Major demonstration projects must include well–documented data collection that will support effective program evaluation.
   
• Strengthening capacity: The case for infrastructure development that includes competencies in data collection, data management, and reporting requires assessing current limitations and needs in health information systems for cardiovascular health and related chronic conditions.
   
• Advancing knowledge: Much of the needed research to address evaluation and policy development questions will be enhanced. Some methodologic research may be required beforehand to know the most effective and feasible means of collecting health data.
   
• Engaging in regional and global partnerships: Refining core data requirements and standardizing data collection and reporting will help prevent heart disease and stroke everywhere. Widespread collaboration in developing data systems will accelerate and streamline this work through sharing knowledge, experience, and resources. Common core data systems will help regional or global partner communication.

Approach to the Task

While the approach should be determined by the leaders and members of the task group, the following 10–step list may be helpful:

1. Define the scope of activity to be pursued through April 2005, within the overall statement of the task, above.
2. Prepare a preliminary outline of the anticipated report.
3. Identify the main source materials that will support the group’s work.
4. Take account of related work by others, whether completed or in progress.
5. Consider whether expertise or consultation beyond the task group will be needed, whether within the National Forum or beyond, and arrange to obtain the needed input.
6. Divide responsibilities for work components among all members of the group.
7. Use support staff to assist in logistics and communications.
8. Maintain frequent contact and monitor progress, including a cumulative record of meetings and accomplishments.
9. Draft the task group report.
10. Present the report to the 3rd National Forum, April 2005.

CDC Support Staff Contact Information

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion
Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
4770 Buford Highway NE, MS K-47
Atlanta, GA 30341
Tele: 770–488–5504
Fax: 770–488–8151
Email: ccdinfo@cdc.gov
Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/hdsp/

The Context of Concrete Tasks
Task 5(a) and 5(b): Evaluating Impact

(a) Action: Bring key partners and stakeholders together to address gaps in heart disease and stroke–related data systems.

Concrete Task: Identify data requirements and gaps and propose remedies to insure optimum data collection, management, and reporting.

Expected Outcome: Present proposals for improving heart disease and stroke–related health data systems.

(b) Action: Convene a planning committee for a "watershed" conference to address the science of evaluating public health programs for policy and environmental change.

Concrete Task: Plan a seminal conference to establish the need, impact, and research career opportunities in evaluating such programs.

Expected Outcome: Report on plans for such a conference to take place in 2005 or 2006.

Tasks 5a and 5b are 2 of 8 tasks for the National Forum to implement during the current year. These tasks emerged from two priority action statements in evaluating impact designated by Working Group 4 in January 2004. These action statements are:

• Convene public health agencies to determine what is needed to fill identified CVH–related information gaps (e.g., surveillance systems) and establish a planning committee of National Forum members to select and convene key experts.
   
• Develop guidelines for evaluating content and format of public health programs in heart disease and stroke prevention, especially those based on policy and environmental change.

These tasks and their related priority action steps were developed from the following recommendations in the full Action Plan:

"Expand and standardize population–wide evaluation and surveillance data sources and activities to assure adequate assessment of CVD indicators and change in the nation's CVD burden. Examples include mortality, incidence, prevalence, disability, selected biomarkers, risk factors and risk behaviors, economic burden, community and environmental characteristics, current policies and programs, and sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, sex, and ZIP code)."

"Establish a network of data systems for evaluation of policy and program interventions that can track the progress of evolving best practices and signal the need for changes in policies and programs over time. This network would support the full development, collection, and analysis of the data needed to examine program effectiveness."

The background of these tasks can be found in A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke in Section 2. A Comprehensive Public Health Strategy, Section 3. Recommendations, and Section 4. Implementation.

|Go to Task 5(b)

Date last reviewed: 05/12/2006
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion