Evaluation of a Community Health Promotion Resource for Primary Care Practices

• Published in: American journal of preventive medicine 2006-03, Vol.30 (3), p.243-251
• Main Authors: Flocke, Susan A., Gordon, Lisa E., Pomiecko, Ginger L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Clinical Competence; Community Health Services - utilization; Family Practice - standards; Female; Health Care Surveys; Health Promotion - methods; Humans; Information Services - utilization; Internet - utilization; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Ohio; Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care) - statistics & numerical data; Patient Education as Topic - methods; Physician-Patient Relations; Primary Health Care - standards
• ISSN: 0749-3797; 1873-2607
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2005.10.021

Primary care physicians’ ability to provide effective health behavior change advice might be leveraged by linking to available community resources. This study evaluates tools to facilitate such a link. A mixed methods longitudinal pre–post-test study was conducted in 2004. Seven primary care practices in northeast Ohio and two longitudinal cohorts of patients ( n=784). The practice-tailored intervention included two main components: (1) a web-based health behavior change resource including a database of community programs and patient education materials, and (2) a health behavior prescription pad. Rates of discussion of diet, exercise, weight management, and smoking cessation; and patient change in motivation to modify behaviors at 8 weeks post-visit. Qualitative field notes about practice routines, culture, and implementation efforts were analyzed to enhance understanding of the practice change process. The post-intervention cohort reported higher rates of discussion of diet (25.7% vs 20.2%), exercise (27.8% vs 16.9%), and weight management (23.2% vs 16.3%), and greater referral to patient education materials (24.2% vs 21.6%) and community programs for health behavior change (16.0% vs 13.6%) ( p