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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. https://www.ahrq.gov/news/ulp/safetynetaud/sess2/cantortxt.htm
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