Term of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Name

Doctor of Public Health in Public Health Leadership (Dr.P.H.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Public Health

Committee Chair

William A. Mase

Committee Member 1

Kelly Sullivan

Committee Member 2

Bettye Apenteng

Non-Voting Committee Member

Levi Ross lross2@ches.ua.edu

Abstract

Introduction: This pilot feasibility study was conducted using medical home index scores to assess the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) readiness to provide care, and examined whether the work of the pediatric practice sites was effective in improving the sites’ readiness to establish a PCMH for mothers and families, including CYSHCN within a three year period.

Method: A non-randomized retrospective study design was used to measure “medical homeness” of five pediatric primary care practices. Six domains analyzed included: (1) organizational capacity; (2) chronic condition management; (3) care coordination; (4) community outreach; (5) data management; and, (6) quality improvement. Secondary data from all pilot sites, pre and post overall and by domain (six), medical home index (MHI) scores, and Alabama Medicaid utilization data were used to test hypothesized relationships using Wilcoxon signed rank (paired) test.

Results: Pre/post scores improved for organizational capacity (z=-2.02, p

Conclusions: The study opens the door for further research in PCMH readiness; more specifically, in conducting a study in a larger, more diverse multi-year cohort of pediatric practices to inform physicians, payers, and policymakers.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

Yes

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