Search

Collective impact (CI) is a structured approach that helps drive multi-sector collaborations to address social problems through systems changes. While the CI approach is gaining popularity, practitioners experience challenges in evaluating its implementation and intended outcomes. We conducted a systematic scoping review to understand evaluation methods specific to CI initiatives, identify challenges or limitations with these evaluations, and provide recommendations for the design of CI evaluations. Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Process evaluations were the most frequently used evaluation design. Most studies collected cross-sectional data to evaluate their efforts. The complexity of CI was most frequently cited as the greatest evaluation challenge. Study recommendations primarily focused on improvements during the evaluation planning phase. Taking careful consideration in the planning of CI evaluations, developing context-specific data collection methods, and communicating results intentionally and effectively could prove useful to sufficiently capture and assess this systems-level approach to address social problems.

The Sexual Health And Peer Education (SHAPE) program implemented in middle schools in Oklahoma County utilizes a hybrid adult and peer educator model to deliver sexual health programming. While peer educators have been incorporated into school-based sexual health programs in the past, this program is unique in its approach to preparing and engaging peer educators. Researchers synthesized data from interviews with program implementers and focus group discussions with teenage peer educators and middle school students who recently participated in the program to understand the process elements that contribute to the benefit of the SHAPE program model. Interviews with program implementers described the thorough peer educator recruitment and training process. Teenage peer educators felt well-prepared to deliver lessons, and through this program, they developed leadership skills, confidence, and grew personally. Middle school students revealed that peer educators were relatable and provided a positive experience where they could engage and ask questions. The application of a hybrid adult and teenage peer educator model proved useful for delivering sexual health topics and benefited students and teenage peer educators. This study's findings highlight elements that can be utilized in future sexual health programming to prepare and engage teenage peer educators in more meaningful ways.

Students who are parents in higher education (HE) in the United States encounter competing demands and challenges while navigating multiple roles as parents, students, and employees. These challenges are multifaceted and can hinder their degree attainment. Using the socio-ecological model, we systematically summarised existing literature published between 2009-2020 to understand the experiences and predictors of student-parents academic outcomes in HE. The reviewed articles included students from two-year and four-year institutions (community college, undergraduates, and graduate students). The analysis revealed that the constraints to student-parents academic success are a system-level problem. Most of the barriers and facilitators identified were related to structural policies adopted by HE. This study concludes with recommendations for future research, policymakers, and the school ecosystem.

Although US teenage birth rates substantially decreased over the past two decades, it still remains the highest in the developed world. More innovative, community-wide initiatives are needed to combat the issue. In Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, the Central Oklahoma Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaboration is utilizing the collective impact model to convene multiple organizations with the goal of making systems-level changes related to teenage pregnancy within the community. This study used an interorganizational network analysis to evaluate the current strength of relationships between organizations in the Collaboration. An interorganizational network survey assessed collaborative relationships (e.g. information sharing and joint planning) within the network. Using R software, network diagrams were developed to depict partner relationships, and network measures, including node-, group- and network-level measures, were calculated. The network depiction (n = 23) revealed that the network core was composed of organizations from multiple sectors, and the backbone organization served as the most central organization for most centrality measures. This study provides insight into how organizational relationships can be assessed in order to increase community capacity to address teenage pregnancy. Continuous monitoring of the strength of relationships is important to ensure success in achieving goals as well as collective impact.

The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the burden of behavioral health conditions prevalent in the United States (U.S.). Consequently, there is a behavioral healthcare provider shortage, particularly in rural areas, to support this need. Recently, primary care providers (PCPs) have shifted to incorporate behavioral health to their practice. However, many PCPs lack knowledge and skills to successfully manage their patients' behavioral health conditions. In response to the need for effective behavioral healthcare across the U.S. Weitzman ECHO launched the Advanced Primary Care (APC ECHO) Adult Psychiatry Module to provide continuing education (CE) for rural PCPs. This study presents the results from the APC ECHO pilot to demonstrate how CE can support PCPs in addressing their patients' mental health needs. Evaluators used a one-group repeated measures study design to assess the APC ECHO Module and understand learner outcomes and individual practice changes. Participant characteristics and individual practice changes were summarized using descriptive statistics, with support from open-ended responses to illustrate findings. Repeated measures analyses of covariance were applied to compare the differences in pre- and post-module learner outcomes. A total of 18 providers participated in the study, with the majority encompassing medical providers (72.2%). There was a significant increase in knowledge (pre-module: 21.11 + 6.99; post-module: 25.08 + 5.66; p < .01), self-efficacy (pre-module: 6.89 + 3.05; post-module: 9.78 + 3.25; p < .01), and skills (pre-module: 7.67 + 4.03; post-module: 10.06 + 3.23; p < .05) gained over the duration of the ECHO module. Additionally, participants indicated they are applying best practices learned through the module to their patients experiencing psychiatric conditions (3.96 + 0.09). This study suggests that tailored CE for PCPs can promote an increase in knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills to apply best practices when treating patients with behavioral health conditions. This, in turn, allows patients to receive more comprehensive care and mitigates access barriers, especially for rural populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although US teenage birth rates substantially decreased over the past two decades, it still remains the highest in the developed world. More innovative, community-wide initiatives are needed to combat the issue. In Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, the Central Oklahoma Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaboration is utilizing the collective impact model to convene multiple organizations with the goal of making systems-level changes related to teenage pregnancy within the community. This study used an interorganizational network analysis to evaluate the current strength of relationships between organizations in the Collaboration. An interorganizational network survey assessed collaborative relationships (e.g. information sharing and joint planning) within the network. Using R software, network diagrams were developed to depict partner relationships, and network measures, including node-, group- and network-level measures, were calculated. The network depiction (n  = 23) revealed that the network core was composed of organizations from multiple sectors, and the backbone organization served as the most central organization for most centrality measures. This study provides insight into how organizational relationships can be assessed in order to increase community capacity to address teenage pregnancy. Continuous monitoring of the strength of relationships is important to ensure success in achieving goals as well as collective impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although US teenage birth rates substantially decreased over the past two decades, it still remains the highest in the developed world. More innovative, community-wide initiatives are needed to combat the issue. In Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, the Central Oklahoma Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaboration is utilizing the collective impact model to convene multiple organizations with the goal of making systems-level changes related to teenage pregnancy within the community. This study used an interorganizational network analysis to evaluate the current strength of relationships between organizations in the Collaboration. An interorganizational network survey assessed collaborative relationships (e.g. information sharing and joint planning) within the network. Using R software, network diagrams were developed to depict partner relationships, and network measures, including node-, group- and network-level measures, were calculated. The network depiction (n = 23) revealed that the network core was composed of organizations from multiple sectors, and the backbone organization served as the most central organization for most centrality measures. This study provides insight into how organizational relationships can be assessed in order to increase community capacity to address teenage pregnancy. Continuous monitoring of the strength of relationships is important to ensure success in achieving goals as well as collective impact., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)