This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
How to design the next Healthy Start evaluation?
Designing a more comprehensive Healthy Start evaluation
Challenge
Programs like Healthy Start improve outcomes and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality and other perinatal outcomes.
Prior evaluations of Healthy Start demonstrated positive program impact on short-term and intermediate outcomes, such as increased participant satisfaction and knowledge, increased access to and use of services, and strengthened integration of services.
However, these evaluations found mixed evidence regarding an association between the program and improved long-term perinatal health status outcomes. These evaluations were limited by data quality challenges, including inconsistency in the definition and sources of selected measures and missing or incomplete data.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) turned to Westat to design an evaluation of the impact of the Healthy Start program and provide insight into future program directions.
Solution
Westat is leading a comprehensive evaluation design effort that addresses and builds upon the findings of previous evaluations.
Through in-depth reviews of historical program documents, data, and evaluation findings; grantee discussions; and collaboration with HRSA, Westat will assess the sites’ capacity to provide high quality data for the national evaluation.
We will use lessons learned to recommend a unique approach to the upcoming evaluation that analyzes the impact of Healthy Start activities by key target populations. This approach will examine potential indicators beyond infant mortality rate or preterm birth to assess program effectiveness.
Results
Results of the evaluation design will inform HRSA’s upcoming national evaluation of the Federal Healthy Start Program through developing an evaluation that:
- Includes input from the HRSA client, Healthy Start grantees, and external stakeholders for the most well-informed, inclusive design possible
- Is feasible and responsive to known data collection capabilities and barriers
- Will provide a more complete picture of the effects of the Healthy Start program and will allow HRSA and Healthy Start grantees to better understand best practices to be shared across the grantee community
Learn more
Focus Areas
Family Support Maternal Health Public HealthCapabilities
Evaluation and Mixed-Methods ResearchSenior Expert Contacts
Saloni Sapru
Principal Research Associate
Kerry Grace Morrissey
Vice President
-
Perspective
Teacher Apprenticeships Strengthen the WorkforceJuly 2024
Many state education agencies (SEAs) are addressing teacher shortages by creating and expanding alternative paths to the teaching profession. One fast-growing option is teacher apprenticeships,…
-
Expert Interview
Passport to Careers: Aiding Foster and Homeless Young AdultsJuly 2024
The Passport to Careers program in Washington State supports former foster youth and homeless youth unaccompanied by a parent or guardian in achieving their college…
-
Perspective
Highlights of Westat at AAPOR 2024May 2024
We’ve returned from the 79th Annual American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Conference, held May 15-17 in Atlanta, where we caught up with colleagues…