Projects

Evaluation of Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyles Initiative

January 2021 - December 2022

We would begin the evaluation by taking time to deepen our collective understanding of the NHL program, through examining existing grant data and initiative frameworks as well as through investigating comparable initiatives in other states to identify best and promising practices related to the seven facets of NHL work: integrating school and community work related to nutrition and physical activity interventions, behavior change, health status change, intended vs. actual reach, sustainability, systems change impact, and community engagement. This research would be summarized in a phase one report and provide the basis for a more detailed phase two evaluation plan. Phase two would involve new data collection, including working with grantees to identify common measures on reach, health indicators, and behavioral change, conducting interviews to learn more about grantees’ and beneficiaries’ experiences with the grant projects, and capturing broader system-level impacts. Findings, including portfolio outputs, best and promising practices, and strategies for grantee community engagement, would be presented in multiple formats in order to ensure the information is available to multiple audiences.

Evaluation of the Use and Validity of the PACT (Positive Achievement Change Tool)

December 2018 - July 2021

We will conduct an evaluation of the use and validity of the PACT (Positive Achievement Change Tool) with the following goals: 1. Identify factors (as assessed by PACT) associated with recidivism globally and in specific populations 2. Document trends in recidivism, risk and protective factors since the onset of PACT administration 3. Understand how program usage maps onto risk factors present in population 4. Understand crimeologic risk and recidivism in youth who have been assessed as low risk

Evaluation of the Young Adult Re-entry Initiative Supplemental Funding

The major goals of the Young Adult Reentry Initiative evaluation are to compare the program models across the three sites to identify efficiencies in program design and delivery, identify best practices, and offer recommendations for areas of improvement. In response, this proposal outlines an evaluation process to elucidate both processes and outcomes of the reentry initiative and coordinate the development of a corresponding program implementation guide. The Project Team will continue to complete data collection with this extension.

MiCHWA PEG Funding

Funds transferred to PEG via Edie Kieffer's MiCHWA Discretionary account for PEG to complete evaluation work on sponsored project.

National Association of Social Workers-Michigan Chapter (NASW-MI) Evaluation Work

The Contractor shall provide evaluation services for the National Association of Social Workers-Michigan Chapter, Substance Use Disorder Supervision Training Project funded through the Michigan Health Endowment Fund (the “Project”).

National Program Office for the Alliance to Advance Patient-Centered Cancer Care

February 2017 - January 2022

The University of Michigan is pleased to submit a proposal to serve as the National Program Office (NPO) for the Merck Foundation Alliance to Advance Patient-Centered Cancer Care (Alliance). Michigan is well-positioned to serve as the Alliance’s NPO due to its extraordinary depth and breadth in patient-centered cancer care delivery research, outstanding accrual into complex clinical trials, national-level expertise on health disparities, cancer symptom management, and dissemination/implementation research. Unique assets include a robust Comprehensive Cancer Center, Survey Research Institute, and Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, which serve to leverage existing resources to assure high impact of the Alliance’s grantees. Over the five-year award, we will monitor and assure that high-quality scientific research is conducted in a fiscally responsive manner. We will draw upon our local and national network to render technical assistance to grantees. We will partner with key groups at the local, regional, and national level to disseminate findings and identify opportunities to implement promising interventions. These activities coalesce with our vision to support the delivery of outstanding patient-centered cancer care in a manner that promotes optimal outcomes for all.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTERS (T42)

October 2018 - June 2023

The University of Michigan Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering (COHSE), a NIOSH Education and Research Center (ERC), has been continuously funded by NIOSH since its establishment in 1982. Our Center has a distinguished legacy, building on NIOSH Trainee Program grants in the early 1970s, the Institute of Industrial Health founded in 1951, and may other milestones dating back to the establishment of the Laboratory of Hygiene in 1888. The mission of the Center is to serve the region, nation and world as a center of excellence for graduate education and research in occupational health and safety. We maintain outstanding Master’s, doctoral and research programs in Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Health Nursing, Occupational Safety Engineering and Ergonomics, and Occupational Epidemiology. Our academic and research programs provide broad-based interdisciplinary academic training to ensure that graduates are qualified to pursue careers and assume leadership roles in the practice of occupational health and safety, and to help ensure an adequate supply of well-trained researchers. Complementing the academic programs, our suite of Research-to-Practice projects, Continuing Education programs, and Outreach activities are aimed at transferring state-of-the-art knowledge to professionals and practitioners in occupational health and safety and allied disciplines. As a NIOSH Education and Research Center, we serve a number of constituencies, including: (1) NIOSH; (2) industry, labor and professional interests in our region and beyond; (3) academic units within the University of Michigan that provide critical teaching and research resources necessary for Center success; and (4) our students. The broad goals of the Center are to: • Promote excellence in our professional training and research training programs in each core program; • Increase the financial resources needed to improve the number, quality and diversity of graduate students in each core area; • Enhance the quality of our continuing education courses and other service and outreach activities; • Increase external research funding to improve our research infrastructure, expand opportunities for research training, and promote interdisciplinary research related to occupational health and safety; • Provide an organizational structure to coordinate and promote interdisciplinary educational activities for all core programs; • Promote awareness and education of occupational health and safety in undergraduate and graduate courses in other departments and schools; • Utilize a variety of research-to-practice (R2P) mechanisms, including our Visiting Partners Program, to develop skills and capabilities of mid-career occupational health and safety professionals; and • Assist Center programs and affiliated academic units in recruiting, promoting and retaining faculty