Fiscal Year 2019
Released April, 2018
Topics on this page: Goal 4. Objective 4 | Objective 4.4 Table of Related Performance Measures
Goal 4. Objective 4: Leverage translational research, dissemination and implementation science, and evaluation investments to support adoption of evidence-informed practices
Translational research, dissemination, and implementation science help increase understanding about how best to support knowledge, adoption, and faithful implementation of best practices in the community. Selecting and adopting evidence-based approaches to tackle health, public health, and human services challenges can be a complex undertaking. HHS programs balance requirements to implement high-quality programs with fidelity, while acknowledging the unique needs of specific individuals or target populations, recognizing differences in program and community settings and resources, and respecting linguistic or cultural differences. Understanding threats to successful implementation of a promising practice can help the Department prevent and mitigate those risks early.
Evaluation and evidence can support the Department’s efforts to improve program performance by applying existing evidence about what works, generating new knowledge, and using experimentation and innovation to test new approaches to program delivery. HHS is committed to integrating evidence into policy, planning, budget, operational, and management decision making. HHS funds multiple types of evaluation and evidence-generating activities; these activities may examine how well a program is implemented, whether it achieves intended outcomes, the overall impact of a program, or all three. Results of these types of activities may be used to plan programs, assess program performance, understand how to improve a program, and inform policy decisions.
The Office of the Secretary leads this objective. The following divisions are responsible for implementing programs under this strategic objective: ACF, ACL, AHRQ, CDC, FDA, HRSA, NIH, OASH, and SAMHSA.
Objective 4.4: Table of Related Performance Measures
| Measure | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | FY 2014 | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | FY 2017 | FY 2018 | FY 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | 65.3 % | 76.7 % | 71.4 % | 64.1 % | 62.4 % | Prior Result +3PP | Prior Result +3PP | Prior Result +3PP |
| Result | 73.7 % | 68.4 % | 61.1 % | 59.4 % | 53.4% | Oct 31, 2018 | Oct 31, 2019 | Oct 30, 2020 |
| Status | Target Exceeded | Target Not Met | Target Not Met | Target Not Met | Target Not Met | Pending | Pending | Pending |
Currently, the Children's Bureau and its National Center for CBCAP are working closely with the states to promote more rigorous evaluations of their Federally funded programs. The Children's Bureau defines evidence-based and evidence-informed programs and practices along a continuum, which includes the following four categories of programs or practices:
- Emerging and Evidence Informed;
- Promising;
- Supported; and
- Well-Supported.
States that receive ACF CBCAP funding are required to use that funding for evidence-based and evidence-informed programs. Although this measure shows a downward trend, ACF anticipates a year-over-year increase of 3 percent from FY 2017 through FY 2019. In FY 2018 and 2019, ACF is committed to continuing to work with CBCAP grantees to invest in known evidence-based practices, while continuing to promote evaluation and innovation, so as to expand the availability of evidence-informed and evidence-based practice over time. In addition, ACF continues to focus one-on-one and peer learning technical assistance on increased accuracy of data reporting for this measure.
| Fiscal Year | Target | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2012 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FY 2013 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FY 2014 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FY 2015 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FY 2016 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FY 2017 | Develop 2 strategies for translating validated basic knowledge, clinical interventions, or behavioral interventions to diverse communities and clinical practice through establishing the Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (PACHE) program between Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) and NCI-designated Cancer Centers (CC). | Several U54 PACHE Partnerships have developed and/or validated evidence-based interventions and tools to help reduce the burden of cancer disparities in underserved communities across the United States. They are working with various community-based organizations (including faith-based organizations and community-based clinical practices and organizations) to disseminate/translate the interventions and tools in the diverse communities. | Target Met |
| FY 2018 | Develop and support 2 partnerships to test validated basic cancer knowledge, clinical or behavioral interventions to diverse communities in clinical practice. | Dec 31, 2018 | In Progress |
| FY 2019 | Finalize testing and validating the strategies to translate basic cancer knowledge, clinical or behavioral interventions to underserved communities and into clinical practice. | Dec 31, 2019 | In Progress |
Disparities persist in cancer incidence rates, care, and survival rates. Unequal benefit from state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatment care for cancer (i.e., lack of access to quality care for segments of the U.S. population) and providers without adequate skills or knowledge to offer the state-of-the-art care are among the reasons for these disparities. Whereas biomedical research makes discoveries and develops these discoveries into new standards for care, studies have identified systematic inefficiencies to delivering these new standards to settings where everyone could have equitable access and benefit. Timely (targeted) dissemination of evidence-based state-of-the-art advancements in cancer diagnostics and treatment modalities to clinicians who work with underserved populations and in underserved communities could help alleviate existing disparities. Thus, NIH is supporting projects to develop and test dissemination strategies that will shed light on how new interventions can be effectively adopted by communities and clinicians serving various populations with various cancer types.
