Iowa Center for Evaluation Research

The Iowa Center for Evaluation Research facilitates research & evaluation projects on a regular basis in the areas of community and behavioral health. Some examples of our projects are provided below. For further information contact Research Director Dr. Brad Richardson at 319.335.4924 or brad-richardson@uiowa.edu or ICER Coordinator Kellee McCrory at 319.335.4931 or Kellee-McCrory@uiowa.edu

Current Projects

Iowa Medical Home Initiative Learning Collaborative

• in Collaboration with Child Health Specialty Clinics, along with Iowa Academy of Family Practitioners
• Funded by the DHHS/HRSA/MCHB
• Supports family and pediatric practices who serve CSHCNs as they become medical homes
• IMHI's website: http://www.iowamedicalhome.org/
• Previously completed annual evaluation report (click for pdf)

Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety

• Provides doctoral and in-service training in several areas of occupational safety and health including: ergonomics, occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, agricultural health, industrial hygiene, and occupational injury prevention
• Funded by NIOSH
• Heartland's website: http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/Heartland/

Evaluation of the Iowa Consortium for Comprehensive Cancer Control

Funded by Iowa Department of Public Health and The Centeres for Disease Control and PreventionIowa Consortium for Comprehensive Cancer Control's website: http://www.canceriowa.org/

Completed Projects:

Healthy and Ready to Work: Child Health Specialty Clinics

• Funded by the DHHS/HRSA/MCHB
• Targets adolescents with special healthcare needs
• Focuses on helping kids transition from pediatric to adult health care and to the working world
• Quasi-experimental design, using mixed methods

Evaluation of the Iowa Public Health Preparedness Center

• Providing training and technical assistance in terrorism/bioterrorism preparedness
• Collaboration with state and local agencies to design and deliver training
• Also serving as a co-director of the cross-center evaluation effort
• One of 19 Academic Public Heath Preparedness Centers, funded by CDC, administered through cooperative agreement with ASPH

Pfizer Health Literacy Study

• Effectiveness of easy-to-read pharmaceutical health educational materials
• Focus on Glucotrol
• Randomized, experimental design in 3 Iowa community health center pharmacies
• Health literacy, use of materials, retention of information, changes in patterns of behavior regarding treatment compliance

Annie E. Casey—Des Moines Making Connections

• Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
• 11 cities funded for 10 years to reconfigure systems and revive low-income urban neighborhoods: children do well when their families are strong and families do well when they live in supportive neighborhoods. Families matter, place matters, and connections count
• Local Learning Partnership—Neighborhood Learning Partnership
• Research support
• Evaluation design
• Medical Debt in the “Des Moines Making Connections” Neighborhoods (pdf)
• Scaling Survey Data to Create Results Indicators (pdf)

Linn County Project

• Development of a literature review that focuses on person-centered planning and related topics
• Evaluation of intake, assessment, and programming processes for people with mental illness or developmental disabilities
• Conducting interviews and focus groups with clients, staff, advocates, family members
• Provide assistance in reviewing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

For more information, please contact:

Kellee-McCrory@uiowa.edu