In the Healthy Start program, consortia
are used to engage communities in systems
change and service improvements to increase
consumer voice and reduce disparities
in infant mortality. Of the 95 grantees,
92 reported the existence of an active
consortium. Grantees that did not have
a consortium indicated that they were
in the planning stages or relied on the
consortium of a separate Healthy Start
grantee.
Although the HRSA Guidance outlines roles
for Healthy Start consortia, the purpose
and priorities of the consortia are determined
by the grantees. Grantees could report
more than one purpose from among six relevant
to their consortia; the average number
reported was four. The consortium purposes
most commonly reported by grantees were
to share information and/or referrals
(92 percent), to fulfill the requirements
of the grant Guidance (84 percent), to
change maternal and child health practices
in the community (80 percent), and to
work toward goals specified in the Local
Health System Action Plan (80 percent).
One of the characteristics of a successful
consortium is the inclusion of key stakeholders.
Eighty percent of grantees strongly agreed
that the consumers on the consortia were
culturally representative of the target
community, while 58 percent indicated
providers were culturally representative
(data not shown). Approximately half of
the grantees (47 percent) strongly agreed
that the consortium included all necessary
stakeholders and fewer (39 percent) felt
that membership was comprised of decision-makers
from the organizations represented. |
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