On behalf of the CEO of Diabetes New Zealand (www.diabetes.org.nz) I
am trying to find out what research has been done on 'best practice'
relating to the activities of community based volunteer health support
organizations.  That is: what research has been carried out on
activities or practices of community based volunteer support
organizations that enhances or optimizes the health outcomes of the
organization's members and/or recipients of its efforts.

Also, which activities or practices sustains or enhances the ability
of community based volunteer organizations to continue delivering
optimal outcomes.  How can these activities or practices be best
transferred to other community based volunteer health support
organizations?

All the research on "best practice" that I can find to date relates to
the private sector or to government funded health organizations.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 18 Apr 2003 18:13 PDT

Hello skf-ga,

I'd like to be able to help you out with your project.  But to do my
best, I need a better understanding of what you are after.  If you
want links to "best practices" documents from other community-based
health organizations, I think I can provide quite a few, such as this
one from the American Lung Association:

http://www.lungusa.org/asthma/report01/
 
Asthma Prevention, Management and Treatment: Community-Based
Approaches for the New Millennium

There are many others like this, from non-profit, non-governmental
organizations.  I'd be glad to provide a list of such links as an
answer.

But if you are looking for some sort of evaluation of these reports,
I'm not sure quite how to proceed.  What information, beyond just the
links to the reports themselves, are you expecting?

If you can clarify your question a bit, perhaps I -- or another
researcher -- will be able to get you what you need.

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Clarification of Question by skf-ga on 19 Apr 2003 05:48 PDT

Hello Pafalafa-ga

Thanks for your request for clarification.

Some background first: Diabetes NZ is an umbrella organization for 37
independant community based diabetes societies.  These societies range
in size from just a few dozen people to societies with over a 1000
members.  All are run by volunteer committees.  Some of the larger
societies have staff.  The general objective of the societies is to
help their members understand and manage diabetes, in order to
minimise the harm that diabetes causes.

"What information, beyond just the links to the reports themselves,
are you expecting?"  What we're trying to do is to prepare a manual of
"best practices", so that the societies are more effective and
efficient (given their very limited resources) in carrying out their
objectives.  This could be in the form of a "pick and mix" list of
"recipes for best practice" that the societies can choose from to
implement.

I suspect that for $50 we cannot expect a full-blown
analysis/evaluation of "best practice" documents!  What would be very
useful, however, is a prioritized annotated list of links to "best
practice" documents from other community-based health organizations,
based on initial assessment by the researcher.

Trust this provides sufficient clarification of what we're wanting.

Hello skf-ga,

Thank you both for your question, and for the obviously valuable work
you are doing there in New Zealand.

As I said earlier, there are many sites that include information on
"best practices" for delivering health care services to the community
through non-profit organizations.  I have included below three things:
 (1) a priority list of best practices sites with a focus on diabetes,
(2) a priority list of best practices sites in other areas of health
care, and (3) the search strategy I used to identify these sites, in
case you would like to continue to search for others.

I didn't want to flood you with information.  Instead, I've made an
effort to be selective by including only the best available sites, and
by providing a good deal of variety in terms of the resources and
information that are available on best practices.

I hope these meet your needs.  But if anything requires additional
explanation or elaboration, please don't hesitate to let me know
through a Request for Clarification.  I'll be glad to assist you
further.

----------

SITES WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON BEST PRACTICES IN DIABETES HEALTH CARE


http://www.diabetestodayntc.org/program_info.htm

Diabetes Today National Training Center 

"The original Diabetes Today curriculum is a community mobilization
model intending to engage communities affected by diabetes in
describing the burden of the disease in a specified geographical
community and defining and implementing targeted community
interventions that will reduce related risk factors and associated
complications of diabetes. Since 1991, more than 35 States have
received training in how to implement this community model."


http://www.diabetestodayntc.org/resources/default.htm

Sample Instruments for Evaluating Community Intervention Activities

----------

http://www.scap.org/ochealthfunders.htm

Background on the Diabetes Initiative

The Health Funders Partnership convened a study session on effective
community-based strategies for the prevention and management of
diabetes. This was followed by a major forum which brought together a
range of stakeholders to assist in the design of the initiative,
drawing on their knowledge of best practices in diabetes care,
appropriate uses of technology, and development of community support
to foster creative, collaborative approaches to this debilitating
chronic disease.

----------


http://www.cmri-ca.org/qi/searchbydisease.html#4


CMRI is a non-profit community-based organization in California that
describes itself as "dedicated to the success of our customers by
measurably improving the quality, safety, and integrity of
healthcare."

Their diabetes site includes links to the following best practices
information:

Diabetes

Quality Indicators

California Rates

Recommendations & Guidelines

Data Collection

Hispanic/Latino Community

----------

OMPRO describes itself as "a nonprofit organization dedicated to
improving the quality and effectiveness of healthcare. We collaborate
with practitioners, providers, public agencies, and private
organizations on a wide range of healthcare improvement projects and
programs. Our work reaches all age and economic levels, and all
delivery settings."

They have a substantial initiative focused on diabetes.


http://www.ompro.org/about_ompro/news/02-10-24.html

Summary of the Oregon Diabetes Collaborative's "best practices"
conference.


http://www.ompro.org/professionals/improvement_tools/Diabetes_tools.html

Includes a detailed list of tools and resources for diabetes
assessment.

----------

http://www.mphi.org/hpdp.aspx

The Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) has an active program
focused on diabetes.  Their Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
project site provides contact information for their key personnel, who
may be a valuable resource for identifying best practices, or for
getting feedback regarding your efforts in New Zealand.



----------

Unfortunately, this document is no longer available on-line, but you
may be able to get a copy through the contact information, below:

http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:m_1hsTyDCCUC:www.dqip.org/compendium/+diabetes+community-based+health+organizations+%22best+practices%22+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Compendium of Diabetes Best Practices

Jim Turpin
Project Director
Texas Medical Foundation
Barton Oaks Plaza Two, Suite 200
901 Mopac Expressway South
Austin, Texas 78746-5799

e-mail: txpro.jturpin@sdps.org
toll free: 1-888-691-9167
fax: 512-327-7159

----------
----------

SITES WITH A MORE GENERAL BEST PRACTICES/HEALTH CARE FOCUS

Other "best practices" guides for community-based health care are
valuable resources, even when not specific to diabetes.  These
include:


http://www.health-in-action.org/workspace/new/features/BestPractices.shtml

Health-in-Action's "An Interdisciplinary Team Approach to Best
Practices Development"

----------

http://www.unaids.org/bestpractice/summary/

The UN's "Summary Booklet of Best Practices" regarding community-based
health care practices for AIDS/HIV.


----------

http://www.healthri.org/family/lead/screening.htm

Rhode Island Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
SCREENING: BEST PRACTICES

----------

http://www.advanceafrica.org/pages/bestpracticeaa.html#key

AdvanceAfrica focuses on improving health care delivery, and has
compiled this extensive list of topic-apecific best practices,
including:  Adolescent Reproductive Health, Behavior Change
Communication, Family Planning and Reproductive Health, and Financing
and Sustainability.

----------

http://www.globalhealth.org/awards/bestpractices_info.php3

The Global Health Coouncil has established "The Award for Best
Practices in Global Health was established to honor individuals and
organizations making significant contributions to the field."  This
may be a useful resource, as well as an area you may want to consider
placing a nomination.



SEARCH STRATEGY:  I conducted two Google searches to identify
diabetes-specific health care organizations:

diabetes community-based health organizations "best practices"
site:.org

as well as groups with a focus on other health care issues:


community-based health organizations "best practices"  -diabetes
site:.org


I hope this is the information you need, and as I said earlier, please
feel free to let me know if I can assist you further through a Request
for Clarification.

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Request for Answer Clarification by skf-ga on 21 Apr 2003 03:29 PDT

Hi Pafalafa

Many thanks for your kind comments about the work that we do, and your
answer.

Before I provide a rating I just need to confirm with the CEO that the
answer does indeed provide the anticipated information.

Kindest regards

skf

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Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 21 Apr 2003 04:44 PDT

OK.  Hope it's what he/she is looking for.  But if any more detail is
needed, just let me know.

Cheers.

pafalafa-ga