Community Connections | Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ)

Community Connections | Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ)

Community Connections

Linking Primary Care Patients to Local Resources for Better Management of Obesity

Prepared by:

The State Networks of Colorado Ambulatory Practices and Partners (SNOCAP-USA)
Elizabeth E. Stewart, Ph.D., M.B.A., Healthy Living & Sunflower Trails Sunflower Foundation:
   Health Care for Kansans
Neta Taylor-Post, H.B.O.R., B.A., YMCA of Greater Providence
Laura Nichols, M.S., SNOCAP-USA
Elizabeth W. Staton, M.S.T.C., SNOCAP-USA
Andrew Schleuning, B.S., Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences

Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction
   Scenario
   Solution
   Goals of Toolkit
Chapter 2. Background: Case for Community Linkages
   Primary Care's Expanding Caseloads and Shrinking Workforce
   Promise of Community Partner
   Origin of Toolkit: Collaboration Among AHRQ, SNOCAP-USA, YMCA
Chapter 3. Linking With a Community Partner
   Step 1: Establish Motivation and Interest of Practice
   Step 2: Find, Connect, and Evaluate a Partner
   Step 3: Identify Patients
   Step 4: Create and Use a Referral Form
   Step 5: Integrate Process Within Patient Paths
   Step 6: Develop a Feedback System
Chapter 4. Linking With the Patient
   Patient Engagement
   Patient Engagement Tools
Chapter 5. Summary
References

Appendixes
Appendix A. Case Studies
Appendix B. Shared Appointments
Appendix C. What Is a Diabetes Prevention Program?
List of Tools

Acknowledgements

The State Networks of Colorado Ambulatory Practices and Partners (SNOCAP-USA) and the YMCA are grateful to the primary care practices that participated in the pilot project and freely shared their experiences for the benefit of other practices. Participating in a formal quality improvement project takes time and commitment, and the authors wish to extend their thanks to each practice for its hard work and willingness to participate in the evaluation.

This document is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without permission.

This toolkit is based on research conducted by SNOCAP-USA under contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Rockville, MD (Contract No. HHSA 290-2007-10008). The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the authors, who are responsible for the content, and do not necessarily represent the views of AHRQ. No statement in this report should be construed as an official position of AHRQ or of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Current as of March 2014

Internet Citation: Community Connections: Linking Primary Care Patients to Local Resources for Better Management of Obesity. March 2014. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/prevention-chronic-care/improve/community/obesity-toolkit/index.html