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Strengthen the Evidence for Maternal and Child Health Programs

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Evidence Tools
MCHbest. Medical Home: Referrals.

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Strategy. Enhanced Provider Communication and Education

Approach. Educate providers and staff in effective standardized communication strategies to disseminate information to patients or other care providers in order to ensure proper aftercare and/or follow-up care is provided

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Overview. Enhancing provider communication and education can improve warm handoff rates between Community Health Workers (CHWs) and patients with unmet social needs. Findings show through quality improvement (QI) methodology, implementing interventions such as dedicating CHW space, improving communication, workflow enhancements, regular updates, and leadership engagement there is a significant increase in CHW referral rates and warm handoff rates.[1]

Evidence. Emerging Evidence. Strategies based on emerging evidence show promise but have not undergone extensive testing. While these approaches demonstrate potential, their effectiveness remains unconfirmed. Prioritize rigorous monitoring to ensure they achieve desired outcomes for all MCH populations.

Access the peer-reviewed evidence through the MCH Digital Library or related evidence source.

Potential Data Sources. Data to support this strategy can be accessed through:

  • Provider pre- and post-intervention knowledge assessments
  • Provider self-efficacy and competency surveys
  • Patient experience surveys

Outcome Components. This strategy has shown to have impact on the following outcomes (Read more about these categories):

  • Provider Experience of Care. This strategy improves healthcare professionals' perceptions, feelings, and satisfaction with the work environment and systems they use.
  • Quality of Care. This strategy promotes the degree to which healthcare services meet established standards aimed at achieving optimal health outcomes.
  • Access to/Receipt of Care. This strategy increases the ability for individuals to obtain healthcare services when needed, including preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services.

Detailed Outcomes. For specific outcomes related to each study supporting this strategy, access the peer-reviewed evidence and read the Intervention Results for each study.

Intervention Type. Health Teaching (Education and Promotion) (Read more about intervention types and levels as defined by the Public Health Intervention Wheel).

Intervention Level. Population/Systems-Focused

Examples from the Field. There are currently no ESMs that use this strategy. Search similar intervention components in the ESM database.

Sample ESMs. Here are sample ESMs to use as models for your own measures using the RBA framework (see The Role of Title V in Adapting Strategies).

Quadrant 1:
Measuring Quantity of Effort (“What/how much did we do?”)

  • Number of providers participating in education programs on effective communication for care coordination. (Measures engagement in communication training)
  • Number of standardized communication protocols developed for provider-to-provider and provider-to-patient information sharing. (Assesses availability of communication resources)

Quadrant 2:
Measuring Quality of Effort (“How well did we do it?”)

  • Percent of communication training programs incorporating case-based simulations and skills practice. (Measures effectiveness of training design)
  • Percent of care transitions including standardized information exchange between providers. (Shows reliability of communication during transitions)

Quadrant 3:
Measuring Quantity of Effect (“Is anyone better off?”)

  • Number of patients reporting high satisfaction and understanding of care plans after provider communication. (Measures patient-reported outcomes of communication)
  • Number of research studies generating evidence on communication approaches that optimize patient outcomes. (Shows knowledge generation in healthcare communication)
  • Number of healthcare systems achieving improvements in care coordination through standardized communication strategies. (Measures organizational impact of communication initiatives)
  • Number of communities benefiting from more responsive healthcare communication, leading to enhanced patient trust. (Assesses population impact of communication improvements)

Quadrant 4:
Measuring Quality of Effect (“How are they better off?”)

  • Percent of communication initiatives prioritizing needs of patients facing challenges to effective healthcare communication. (Measures focus on communication)
  • Percent of communication tools designed patient input to ensure relevance. (Assesses participatory design of communication resources)
  • Percent of healthcare systems achieving improvements in care coordination through standardized communication strategies. (Measures organizational impact of communication initiatives)
  • Percent of communities benefiting from more responsive healthcare communication, leading to enhanced patient trust. (Assesses population impact of communication improvements)

Note. When looking at your ESMs, SPMs, or other strategies:

  1. Move from measuring quantity to quality.
  2. Move from measuring effort to effect.
  3. Quadrant 1 strategies should be used sparingly, when no other data exists.
  4. The most effective measurement combines strategies in all levels, with most in Quadrants 2 and 4.

Learn More. Read how to create stronger ESMs and how to measure ESM impact more meaningfully through Results-Based Accountability.

References

[1] Sanderson, D., Braganza, S., Philips, K., Chodon, T., Whiskey, R., Bernard, P., Rich, A., & Fiori, K. (2021). "Increasing Warm Handoffs: Optimizing Community Based Referrals in Primary Care Using QI Methodology". Journal of primary care & community health, 12, 21501327211023883. https://doi.org/10.1177/21501327211023883

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U02MC31613, MCH Advanced Education Policy, $3.5 M. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.