Transportation Center

Research
Community Health Research

The Community Health Research Group (CHRG) has undertaken and completed eight major research projects and submitted final reports to sponsors, primarily the Tennessee Department of Health. The research projects have included

• a random digit dial telephone survey of the health and health care access problems of the Tennessee medically uninsured and Medicaid population prior to TennCare to determine its feasibility;
  
• an evaluation of an intake and referral demonstration program for providing primary health care services to poor, uninsured, rural residents of East Tennessee;
  
• the Tennessee Alcohol and Other Drug Needs Assessment Survey of 8000 adults in 4 metropolitan and 8 nonmetropolitan regions of Tennessee;
  
• a series of special studies from the adult survey data, including a study of the relationship of alcohol, other drugs and violence among adults to support statewide public hearings on the topic, an analysis of special health and lifestyle risks for gender and racial groups in the state, and a comparison of high school leavers and stayers among Tennessee adults ages 18-34;
  
• and a study of 338 high school dropouts ages 16-19 concerning their special health and alcohol and other drug treatment needs.
  

Most recently completed is a statewide random sample survey of 137 high schools and 74,000 9th through 12th grade students concerning their alcohol and other drug use and abuse and prevention- and treatment-related issues and concerns.

To this family of studies, which the CHRG began in 1992 with the goal of assessing need for alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment and prevention services in all segments of the Tennessee population, has been added (1) a study of the nature and extent of AOD treatment need among arrestees in several police and sheriff's departments modeled after the Drug Use Forecasting system (DUF) and its enhanced version, the SANTA or Substance Abuse and Need for Treatment among Arrestees; (2) a special emergency room study of a sample of trauma centers and community hospital emergency rooms by region in Tennessee to estimate the prevalence of alcohol and other drug abuse and need for treatment among ER visitors; (3) a random digit dial telephone survey of Tennessee residents to ascertain the prevalence of alcohol and other drug use and abuse and need for treatment; and (4) a social indicator study using county-level secondary data sets--data from birth and death certificates, traffic crash and fatality records, arrest data, hospital discharge data, AOD treatment data, and alcoholic beverage licensing and sales tax data. These data sets will be used to triangulate on the problem of alcohol and other drug use, abuse and need for treatment. Secondary social indicator data will be compared with primary survey data collected in order to develop and refine direct and indirect indicators of treatment need in Tennessee.

These studies are supported by a three-year, $1.1 million contract with the State of Tennessee Department of Health, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services.

New funding initiatives include a patient outcome study and patient and market profiles for a large home health care agency; planning community needs assessment and program evaluation services for a state government agency providing services; several surveys of transportation needs in Tennessee; and conduct of a statewide HIV/AIDS data analysis project. Provision of technical assistance and support to state and local agencies and community groups continues as does conduct of community needs assessment and health profiles, program evaluation and related health care research services including epidemiologic and biostatistical consultation.

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