Heeren, Sewell, and Ashida Publish Study Exploring Accountable Communities of Health
Evaluation research specialist Tessa Heeren and senior faculty affiliates Daniel Sewell and Sato Ashida of the Health Policy Research Program co-authored a study titled "Applying network analysis to assess the development and sustainability of multi-sector coalitions," examining Accountable Communities of Health (ACH) models which enhance care coordination for patients and are better suited to address Social Determinants of Health needs.
These models have been made popular by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Intervention (CMMI) grants that work to encourage the development of community-based coalitions across medical, public health, and social service delivery systems. The researchers collected network data from seven participating ACH sites across Iowa and used logistic network regression modeling to identify structures and characteristics of organizations that either facilitated or impeded sustainable connections between the foundational networks of comprehensive ACH care.
The results revealed that the ACH was effective at stimulating sustainable connections across sectors. Some of the factors identified and associated with these connections were the strength of relationships and the type of collaboration, specifically data and resource sharing. Their findings also suggested decreased ACH intervention momentum and structure, due to lack of incentive to maintain collaborations beyond the duration of the CMMI grants.