Design and Operation of the Transformed National Healthy Start Evaluation

Abstract

Purpose Improving pregnancy outcomes for women and children is one of the nation's top priorities. The Healthy Start (HS) program was created to address factors that contribute to high infant mortality rates (IMRs) and persistent disparities in IMRs. The program began in 1991 and was transformed in 2014 to apply lessons from emerging research, past evaluation findings, and expert recommendations. To understand the implementation and impact of the transformed program, there is a need for a robust and comprehensive evaluation. Description The national HS evaluation will include an implementation evaluation, which will describe program components that affect outcomes; a utilization evaluation, which will examine the characteristics of women and infants who did and did not utilize the program; and an outcome evaluation, which will assess the program's effectiveness with regard to producing expected outcomes among the target population. Data sources include the National HS Program Survey, a HS participant survey, and individual-level program data linked to vital records and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) survey. Assessment Descriptive analyses will be used to examine differences in risk profiles between participants and non-participants, as well as to calculate penetration rates for high-risk women in respective service areas. Multivariable analyses will be used to determine the impact of the program on key outcomes and will explore variation by dose, type of services received, and grantee characteristics. Conclusion Evaluation findings are expected to inform program decisions and direction, including identification of effective program components that can be spread and scaled.