Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Embry M. Howell on Health Statistics

In early 2003 San Mateo County, California launched the Children's Health Initiative (CHI), a program to ensure that all children have access to comprehensive health insurance coverage. The report describes the governance structure for the CHI; its financing; enrollment growth (for all three public programs); access to services; use and cost of services for all three public programs; satisfaction on the part of both parents and providers; prior insurance and crowd-out; and the effect the initiative has had on hospital finances. Areas identified as needing attention include improving access to after-hours and dental care; increasing the use of preventive service; and developing new sources of financing for the CHI.

The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) is a collaborative effort to use local information in community building and policymaking. The task of building local data systems is given to a local intermediary in each of the 19 NNIP partnership cities. The partners obtain data from a variety of agencies, geocode it to the neighborhood level, and make it available to users. In the first seven years of the NNIP, the partners have learned several important lessons. First, data at the local (neighborhood) level are essential for developing public policy. Second, advances in technology over the past decade have made it possible to maintain these detailed local databases at relatively low cost. Third, there are a variety of types of local organizations that can effectively serve as the local partner, from academia to government, community foundations, or other community-based nonprofits. Fourth, as with most endeavors, good leadership is critical to successfully building the bridges across multiple agencies. Finally, a major lesson from the NNIP experience is that providing data is only the first step. Data must be used in ways that are visible, useful, and responsive to the community if the project is to retain local support and enthusiasm. (Journal of Public Health Management and Practice 9(3), 2003.)