A standardized reporting system for assessment of diverse public health programs.

State public health agencies face challenges when monitoring the efforts and effects of public health programs that use disparate strategies and address various diseases, locations, and populations. The external evaluators of a complex portfolio of grant funding sought a standardized reporting framework and tool that could be used for all grants in the portfolio, without having to redesign it for each disease or intervention approach. Evaluators iteratively reviewed grant-funded projects to identify common project delivery strategies, then developed and implemented a common reporting framework and spreadsheet-based data capture tool. Evaluators provided training, technical assistance, and ongoing data reviews. During 2 fiscal years, 103 public health programs throughout Colorado submitted quarterly reports; agencies funded to implement these programs ranged from small community-based organizations to university- and hospital-affiliated groups in urban and rural settings. Aggregated reports supported estimates of program reach by strategy and by disease area, and the system supported production of summary descriptions of program implementation. Standardized language and expectations for reporting helped to align grant applications and work plans with reporting tools. A common language and standardized reporting tool can be used for diverse projects in a comprehensive evaluation framework. Decentralized data collection using common spreadsheet software enabled the aggregation of common data elements across multiple programs and projects. Further refinements could enable wider dissemination of common reporting criteria and expectations.

Rates and reasons: disparities in low intentions to use a state smoking cessation quitline.

PURPOSE: Little is known about population-level rates and reasons for low intentions to call the quitline, a widely available evidence-based smoking cessation treatment. DESIGN: This study is a secondary analysis of the 2008 Colorado Adult Tobacco Attitudes and Behavior Survey. SETTING: This is a population-based telephone survey of adults in Colorado. SUBJECTS: Study respondents (N = 1662) included current adult smokers who had heard of the Colorado QuitLine (QL) and did not report that they never intend to quit. MEASURES: Outcome measures included intent to call the QL, self-reported reasons for not intending to call the QL, and knowledge of QL services. ANALYSIS: Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used for each outcome variable. All analyses were weighted for complex survey design to represent the population of Colorado. RESULTS: Overall 45.6% of smokers intend never to call the QL. In multivariate analysis, Latinos (odds ratio [OR] = 2.5; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 1.4, 4.7), gay/lesbian/bisexuals (OR = 5.2; 95% CI, 2.4, 11.4), and those with no insurance compared with Medicaid (OR = 3.8; 95% CI, 1.1, 13.0) were most likely to intend never to call the QL. Perceiving no need for assistance (34.8%) was the most common reason for not calling. CONCLUSIONS: A majority of smokers have no or weak intentions of ever calling the QL, with variation by subgroup. Reasons for not intending to call can inform targeted media campaigns to increase QL reach.