97 - Needs Assessment: A Key Component of Evaluation in Primary Care Clinics and Community Networks

Abstract Information: This presentation will describe the use of Needs Assessments to identify gaps, needs, and resources for individuals with a diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD) or other substance use disorders (SUD) in rural and urban communities in the Upper Midwest. Communities across three states, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, continue to address the opioid crisis through prevention, treatment, and recovery programming. The presentation will highlight the purpose of needs assessments, informing strategic planning, supporting program development, and informing sustainability planning; and topmost components involved in the successful completion of a needs assessment. Needs assessments incorporate both qualitative and quantitative methods. A qualitative study conducted to evaluate a collaboration between a shelter and a recovery program to improve outcomes of individuals who are unhoused, and experience behavioral health challenges will be described. Individual interviews were conducted in the shelter; the data was analyzed using NVivo, a software program which allows evaluators to manage, analyze, and visualize qualitative data systematically. This evaluation facilitated sharing the voices of individuals who might otherwise be unheard, for instance, individuals who are unhoused and persons of color. This presentation will also describe the retrieval of quantitative data through in-depth hospital electronic health record data, census data, local law enforcement data, and patient interviews. Interviews with patients employing the Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) federal evaluation tool were used to identify treatment gaps and needs of individuals whose lives have been impacted by substance use. This evaluation tool has been used by programs funded by SAMHSA. Information collected through the GPRA includes, but is not limited to, gender, ethnicity, race, substances used over the past 30 days, substance use and mental health diagnoses, current living conditions, education, employment, income, and legal status. This data shows the disparities in the population served, with the most vulnerable groups being individuals who are Native American and Justice Involved individuals. Community based participatory research methods guided the development of each needs assessment; the evaluation team and community networks oversaw the development and completion of each needs assessment. For instance, the central Minnesota needs assessment which included results of GPRA data was guided by an evaluation team comprised of grant staff, staff from primary care clinics, and community network members representing treatment centers, primary care clinics, public health, criminal justice, and recovery programs. The qualitative data collection in the urban setting was guided by an evaluation team comprised of a peer recovery specialist who had experienced homelessness, administrative staff at the recovery program and drop in center/homeless shelter, and evaluators from the grant-funded Emergency Department project. The data presented will highlight successful tools for completing a needs assessment with an in depth look into vulnerable populations being served, including American Indians and individuals with OUD, other SUD, and mental health diagnoses.