Organizational level indicators to address health equity work in local public health agencies: a scoping review.
Salter, Katherine ; Salvaterra, Rosana ; Antonello, Deborah 等
Organizational level indicators to address health equity work in local public health agencies: a scoping review.
The need to address growing health inequities - those unjust and
avoidable differences in health between groups who have varied levels of
social privilege related to factors such as wealth, power, education,
gender or ethnicity - is an increasingly articulated global health
priority. (1-3) Reducing these inequities will require strengthening the
social, economic and environmental factors that influence health -
commonly referred to as social determinants of health (SDoH) (4) - and
eliminating their unequal distribution. (5) While root causes of health
inequities will need to be tackled in broad policy arenas, essential
areas of equity action for the health sector have been identified, and
addressing the SDoH is viewed as fundamental to the design and provision
of effective public health programs and activities. (1-3,5-8) However,
addressing the SDoH, particularly as they pertain to issues of inequity,
can be challenging as health inequities are often multi-factorial,
values-oriented, and the result of complex relationships between social
hierarchy, economic and financial restraint, and political ideology. (9)
Given the complexities involved in addressing inequities in public
health, it has become important to not only evaluate pertinent health
outcomes, but also the strategies, processes and related activities of
the local public health agencies responsible for implementing public
health programs.
Assessing the performance of a health system, including the public
health system, is imperative to ensure its functionality and success.
Steps to reduce inequities in health have been identified through three
principles: improve the conditions of daily life; tackle inequitable
distribution of power; and measure the problem and evaluate action.
(1,10) Most public health systems have tools in place to monitor and
evaluate the functioning of the health system; (11) however, performance
indicators, as they relate to how local public health agencies address
issues of inequity, are far less common. Health equity performance
indicators would help local public health agencies better understand
their work in recognizing and addressing inequities that exist within
their local populations.
Background
Ontarians are served by a system of 36 local public health
agencies, each governed by a Board of Health that is responsible for the
population within its geographic borders. These Boards are mandated to
protect and promote the health of their communities under the Health
Protection and Promotion Act and are led by a medical officer of health.
(12) The release of the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) in 2008
represented a step forward in the management of public health programs
and services through the introduction of a revitalized performance
management framework. (7) The OPHS established mandatory requirements
for fundamental public health programs as well as provided a framework
of foundational principles and standards intended to provide guidance
toward the achievement of articulated program standards and requirements
in support of improved accountability, equitable access, and the
evaluation of public health programs and services. (7,13) Within the
OPHS, addressing the SDoH to reduce health inequities is considered
fundamental to the work of each local public health agency. Work to
address health equity issues should thus be included in strategic
organizational planning and addressed in the delivery and outcome
evaluation across all programs and services. (7,14) However, recent
research has reported a lack of consensus in practice regarding the way
in which local public health agencies could and should address the
social determinants and tackle health inequities at the local level.
(15,16) While analysis and action on the SDoH "should be an
integral part of normal practice of public health organizations and
staff' (p. 24) in Canada, reported activity around health equity
and SDoH has not been widespread. (8) Broad requirements for action have
not been accompanied by guidance regarding implementation or assessment
of whether efforts of local public health agencies are appropriate or
sufficient to meet Board of Health responsibilities to address health
inequities.
In 2013, a joint workgroup of the Association of Local Public
Health Agencies (alPHa) and the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA)
developed an initial set of indicators derived from the requirements of
the OPHS and the Ontario Public Health Organizational Standards. (17)
However, the process of the workgroup was informal, and did not include
a systematic literature review. In 2014, the local public health agency
representatives engaged in the project reported here expressed a need
for a set of evidence-based indicators, developed and tested in the
context of public health practice in Ontario.
Research objective
The purpose of this literature review was to determine what
organizational level indicators exist that could be used to monitor and
guide the progress of local public health agencies in addressing the
SDoH and reducing health inequities, as required by the OPHS and Ontario
Public Health Organizational Standards.
METHOD
Our method was based on the six-stage standard scoping study
framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley, within which we a)
identified a research objective (see above), b) identified relevant
studies, c) selected studies, d) charted data, e) collated, summarized
and reported results, and f) carried out a consultation exercise. (18)
Study identification
Relevant search terms were defined by a working group in
consultation with a Health Equity Specialist working within a local
public health agency. The search strategy featured key terms built
around "public health" as well as measurement terms
(indicators, evaluation, assessment, markers, and other variants), and
terms focused on health inequity (e.g., health inequality, social
determinants of health, social isolation, disparity). The complete
strategy is provided in Supplementary File A (see the Article Tools
section of the journal site for all supplementary files). Three
electronic databases (i.e., PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus) were searched for
relevant, English language, peer-reviewed literature published between
January 2002 and May 2014. Systematic searches for relevant grey
literature were conducted in the Canadian Health Policy Research
Collection and desLibris databases. A research librarian affiliated with
the project conducted Google-based custom searches for US State
Government information and of Ontario Public Health Unit websites. In
addition, documents were contributed from the files of the public health
and academic expert members of the research team. The same time frame
(January 2002-May 2014) was used to search grey literature sources as
peer-reviewed. This period was chosen as it coincides with the increase
in interest around health equity.
Study selection
Reports, both from peer-reviewed or grey sources, were considered
for inclusion in the current review if a) they stated a research
objective, aim or purpose within the areas of health equity, health
inequality, health disparities, priority populations, vulnerable groups,
and/or SDoH and b) the report addressed assessment or evaluation of
health equity or SDoH policy, programs or organizational level
activities or c) they identified/developed indicators intended for the
evaluation of health equity or SDoH impacts. Reports examining
population-level indicators only were excluded as they were deemed to
lack sensitivity and specificity for actions limited to organizations
within the public health sector. Reports with insufficient reporting
details to support understanding of method or facilitate data
abstraction were also excluded (e.g., editorials, commentary, conference
proceedings, and abstracts) as were non-English language publications;
reports were not assessed for quality. Identified articles were assessed
for inclusion first by title and abstract review (round 1) and then by
screening the full text of the articles (round 2). Assessment for
inclusion was performed by two members of the research team on each
round, and disagreements were resolved through discussion with another
team member.
Charting the data
The research team collaborated to create a single, standard
abstraction form to be used by team members to facilitate consistent
data collection practices. In addition to the author, source and
context, any identified indicators (description/ definition),
development method and testing of indicators (e.g., feasibility,
reliability, validity), suggestions for evaluation of reported
indicators as well as additional information relevant to future
indicator development or testing were recorded. For the purposes of this
review, indicators and factors for future indicator development or
testing recorded during data extraction will be referred to simply as
indicators.
Collating, summarizing, reporting
Indicators, either developed or recommended for future development,
were recorded. These indicators were reviewed and then grouped together
by theme. In all, 12 broad thematic categories were identified as
follows: 1) cultural competency; 2) quality of care and health services;
3) mental health; 4) elder health; 5) length of life; 6) illness,
disease, injury or wellness; 7) health risks and behaviours; 8) gender
equity and women's health; 9) assessment (of public health programs
and services); 10) physical environment; 11) income, social status and
education; and 12) civic engagement and areas for collaboration.
The list of indicators and identified factors for development were
examined by a working group from within the research team to select the
items perceived as most relevant for examination of health equity
activity at an organizational level. If consensus could not be achieved
among working group members regarding inclusion of an indicator, it was
discussed within the larger research group. The selected indicators were
then categorized according to four key organizational roles for public
health action to reduce health inequities. The roles were identified and
validated in a national consultation with the Canadian public health
community by the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of
Health (NCCDH):8 1) assess and report on the health of populations
describing health inequalities and inequities; 2) modify and orient
public health interventions in consideration of the unique needs and
capacities of priority populations; 3) engage in community and
multisectoral collaboration; and 4) lead/ participate and support other
stakeholders in policy analysis, development and advocacy.
Consultation
To gather additional information, and seek out other perspectives
regarding the meaning and applicability of the preliminary results of
the review and summary process described above, we elected to conduct a
consultation process. (18,19) Provincial, national and international
health equity and indicator development experts were identified using
existing contacts within the research team to supplement key authors
highlighted during the literature review process. Potential participants
were invited to engage in individual, one-hour long, semi-structured
interviews, to examine items extracted from the literature for issues of
face validity within the public health role framework and to offer
opinions regarding relative importance, possible assessment gaps and
recommended areas for indicator development. Invitations were extended
by e-mail to a total of 18 possible participants worldwide and 13
telephone interviews were conducted. Prior to each interview,
participants received an information package containing a description of
the shortlisted items and were asked to consider the importance,
usefulness and NCCDH role classification of each item. All interviews
were recorded and transcripts produced verbatim. Analysis of transcript
data was performed using NVivo [R] software (version 10) by two members
of the research team. A summary document presenting results of this
analysis for each indicator and role, noting general role comments,
specific indicator concerns and potential gaps in assessment, was
generated to support a team discussion of the review results and
facilitate the revision of the indicator short list.
Ethics approval
This research received formal ethics approval from Western
University (ref: HSREB 105503). All interview participants provided
informed consent prior to participation.
RESULTS
A total of 10 254 records were identified through the search for
peer-reviewed articles, after the removal of all duplicates. After all
records were screened and assessed for eligibility, a total of 18
peer-reviewed studies were included in the synthesis process. The
process of identifying peer-reviewed articles for inclusion is
documented in Figure 1. Searches of the Canadian Health Policy Research
Collection database and the desLibris database identified a total of 228
possible items for inclusion. Custom searches conducted by the research
librarian and document references provided by public health team members
provided another 46 possible items. All items were screened over 2
rounds, as with the peer-reviewed articles. In the first round, 164
articles were excluded based on a review of titles, and abstracts or
executive summaries where these were available. In round 2, 8 additional
articles were identified from handsearching; however, based on a review
of complete texts, an additional 88 articles were excluded (see Figure
2). The remaining 30 articles were identified for inclusion in the
review. A complete list of all articles and reports included is provided
in Supplementary File B.
One hundred and seventy-two indicators were collected from the
peer-reviewed literature and an additional 302 indicators were collected
from grey literature sources and classified according to the categories
described previously. A description of the indicators recorded from the
identified grey and peer-reviewed literature sources is provided in
Table 1.
In selecting a short list of indicators, the working group
determined that many of the recorded indicators were restricted to
health outcomes often measured at the community or population level
(e.g., infectious disease rates, preventable hospitalization rates,
birth outcomes, maternal mortality, etc.) and did not necessarily
capture organizational or externally-focused public health activities.
All such indicators were excluded. Team discussion of the remaining
indicators included issues around a) how a given concept could be
translated into a measurable indicator of health equity process at the
level of the organization, b) whether a given indicator could be altered
to highlight equity-seeking populations, and c) whether a proposed
indicator was within public health's capacity to measure or
monitor, particularly at the level of the local public health agency.
Selected indicators, including those developed by the joint working
group of alPHa-OPHA, were also examined, and classified, in terms of
their applicability within the role framework proposed by the NCCDH. (8)
Consultation feedback
From the written feedback provided and the recorded transcripts of
the interviews, summaries were created to highlight feedback related to
indicator importance, recommendations for development, indicator
retention, and role classification. The short list of indicators (n =
28) and brief key informant feedback are provided in Table 2.
The most common reasons offered for removal of an indicator by the
key informants were that 1) it was not an indicator of the performance
of equity-related activity at the level of an organization, or 2) it was
redundant, i.e., being assessed as part of another indicator. Indicators
that were considered for retention were all noted as requiring
significant clarification, definition and development. Additionally, a
number of indicators (see Table 2) were identified as having a focus on
organization systems, capacity and support for equity activities. Expert
informants urged consideration of an additional category or role to
accommodate these and any other similar indicators that might be
developed. The process of consultation and review prompted the creation
of a revised list of possible indicators, suggestions for development,
as well as a list of assessment gaps to be addressed within each role
(Table 3). In response to the expert feedback, an additional category,
entitled "Organizational and System Development" was added to
reflect the approaches to and means through which local health agencies
may strengthen and fulfill activities within each of the other public
health roles. (8,20)
DISCUSSION
The current project spans several phases of research. In this first
phase, we built upon recent reports from the NCCDH and OPHA/ alPHa
(8,17) by conducting a scoping review of peer-reviewed and grey
literatures in order to identify indicators that a) currently exist and
b) could be used to monitor and guide progress toward fulfillment of
public health roles at the level of the local public health agency.
The field of public health services research, as a whole, is just
emerging as an area of concentrated interest, thus it was unsurprising
that relatively few relevant articles were located. Many of the
indicators identified initially represented an association between
public health performance and health status outcomes. While health
outcome measures are useful to public health agencies to help them
identify local populations' risk of experiencing inequity, for the
purposes of evaluating performance in addressing inequity, process
measures tend to be more sensitive than outcome measures to differences
in quality of care. (21) Performance or process indicators can be used
to demonstrate practice trends, showcase excellence and highlight areas
that need improvements over time. Further, while public health agencies
have a role in addressing population health outcomes through
collaborations with other organizations within the health system, they
cannot be held accountable for these outcomes. However, public health
agencies' efforts to lead, support and participate in larger
system-level efforts to improve population health outcomes as they
relate to health equity can be measured. We have thus included these
types of indicators in Role 4 - Lead, Support, Participate.
The findings from this research ought to be considered in light of
some limitations. Articles outside of the search parameters, such as
non-English ones, might have contributed further information. Further,
discussions and analysis were done with a background focus related to
the public health system in Ontario; interpretation of findings might be
different in the context of a widely dissimilar system. Population
health indicators related to outcomes were considered out of scope for
this review, in part because the public health system is not solely
responsible for these outcomes. Future efforts might identify those
system-level outcomes that fall solely within the purview of public
health.
Given that proper assessment and evaluation are discussed as
crucial components of tackling issues of inequity in public health in
both the NCCDH documents and the OPHS, the need for performance measures
is even more imperative. Our review of the literature revealed few
evidence-based, validated indicators that could be used by local Boards
of Health to monitor and guide progress to address health inequities.
Further, consultation with key experts suggested that, while the
assessment of organizational level activity is important, there is a
need for continued development of these indicators, including careful
operationalization of concepts and establishing clear definitions for
key terms. In addition, attention should be paid to the identified
assessment gaps within each of the public health roles.
CONCLUSION
The literature, and indicators presented within it, do not always
reflect the health equity activity in practice at local public health
agencies. Recent reports have provided important examples in which
Ontario public health agencies are working on the leading edge of
practice to address health inequity. (22-24) Moving forward, our
challenge is to build upon the selected indicators identified in the
current review to derive a set of evidence-informed, organizational
performance indicators that can be used to reflect the health equity
activity within local public health agencies and to help guide future
activity within each of the identified public health roles.
This work showed that few robust indicators were available. In the
next phase of research, results from the scoping review, integrated with
the feedback from expert informants, were used to inform the development
of a set of indicators for testing in a sample of local public health
agencies in Ontario. In addition, based on rich learnings and input from
test sites and public health practitioners, a final set of indicators
and a user guide have been developed to support their use. (25)
doi: 10.17269/CJPH.108.5889
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Received: September 16, 2016
Accepted: March 3, 2017
Katherine Salter, MSc, [1] Rosana Salvaterra, MD, MSc, [2] Deborah
Antonello, BScN, MN, [3] Benita E. Cohen, PhD,[4] Anita Kothari, PhD,
[1,5] Marlene Janzen LeBer, PhD, [6] Suzanne LeMieux, MA, PhD, [7] Kathy
Moran, MHSc, [8] Katherine Rizzi, MHIS, [5] Jordan Robson, MSc, [3]
Caroline Wai, MHSc [9]
Author Affiliations
[1.] Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University,
London, ON
[2.] Peterborough County-City Health Unit, Peterborough, ON
[3.] Algoma Public Health, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
[4.] Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,
MB
[5.] School of Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western
University, London, ON
[6.] School of Leadership & Social Change, Brescia University
College, Western University, London, ON
[7.] Sudbury and District Health Unit, Sudbury, ON
[8.] Durham Region Health Department, Whitby, ON
[9.] Toronto Public Health, Toronto, ON
Correspondence: Katherine Salter, PhD(C), c/o Graduate Program,
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Elborn College, Western University,
London, ON N6A 1H1, E-mail:
[email protected]
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
Caption: Figure 1. Identification of articles for inclusion in the
review
Caption: Figure 2. Identification of grey literature for inclusion
in the review
Table 1. Abstracted indicators
Category Number of indicators
recorded
Grey Peer-
literature reviewed
Cultural competency 9 4
Quality of care and 28 30
health services
Mental health 9 2
Length of life 25 12
Illness, disease, injury,
and wellness
34 30
Health risks and 64 7
behaviours
Gender equity and 24 3
women's health
Assessment 30 15
Physical environment 19 14
Income, social status, 45 36
education
Civic engagement and 14 14
areas for collaboration
Category Description of indicators retrieved
Cultural competency * Number and types of anti-racism
policies, percentages of families (in a
specific location) that use English as a
second language, recommendations re:
levels and use of Aboriginal languages
and reduction of language barriers in
order to improve equitable access to
services, spirituality, reflectiveness,
and responsiveness to cultural norms or
practices.
Quality of care and * Various rates (e.g., infectious
health services disease) in addition to service delivery
markers such as time from referral to
assessment and time from assessment to
treatment. Recommendations included
monitoring of patient experience as well
as additional assessment of utilization
patterns.
Mental health * Measurements such as depression
prevalence, number of suicide deaths,
perceived work-related stress, as well
as recommendations to reduce depression
and anxiety rates among youth. No items
from this category were shortlisted.
Length of life * All indicators identified were health
Illness, disease, injury, outcome indicators only.
and wellness
* Disease prevalence and incidence
rates; recommendations for indicator
development included a health and
wellness plan targeting Aboriginal
groups.
Health risks and * Developed due to the correlation
behaviours between items in this category and
social determinants of health.
Indicators identified in this category
were those attempting to monitor risks
and behaviours, such as smoking rates,
obesity rates, alcohol consumption
rates, drug use rates, and
recommendations to measure lifestyle
choices that have health-related
outcomes.
Gender equity and * Monitoring of maternal health issues
women's health (e.g., maternity services available,
gestational diabetes rates, percentage
of mothers screened for postpartum
depression, or prevalence of folic acid
use in peri- conception period).
Recommendations for indicator
development suggested monitoring health
needs by gender and conducting routine
gender equity analyses.
Assessment * All except 4 indicators were
recommendations for indicator
development; few indicators that were
retrieved from the literature (i.e.,
"measures of administration efficiency"
and "measures of efficacy, efficiency,
and quality improvement") were found
lacking in description and definition.
Physical environment * Affordable housing rates, homelessness
rates, living arrangements;
recommendations to evaluate the quality
of housing, monitor violence and crime
rates according to geographic location,
evaluation of built environments, use of
health impact assessment tools,
reduction of geographical
maldistribution of services and
supplies.
Income, social status, * High school attendance and graduation
education rates, number of families that have
access to quality child care, employment
rates, literacy rates, and percentage of
income used for rent. * Income security,
poverty rates, bankruptcy rates, number
of single-parent households, immigration
status, as well as recommendations to a)
understand financial and non-financial
barriers to access and b) identify and
understand existing political processes
and power relationships.
Civic engagement and * Recommendations included recording the
areas for collaboration number of inter/intra-community
programs, monitoring the involvement of
youth and elders in community
decision-making, encouraging partnership
development, developing cross-sectoral
collaborations, enabling community
empowerment to support marginalized
groups, supporting partnered decision
making.
Table 2. Shortlisted indicators and feedback from expert informants
Role (8) Shortlisted indicator Feedback
Role 1--Assessing Measurement of the percentage of Retain
and reporting on families with English as a
health status and second language.
what could be done
to improve it
Comparison of your Reassign
organization's workforce
diversity with the population
diversity.
Measurement of the percentage of Remove item
children who have completed
recommended vaccination
programs.
Measurement of percentage of Remove item
elders who are offered fall
prevention awareness
initiatives.
Measurement of diabetes rate. Remove item
Measurement of the number of Reassign
clients registered in methadone
maintenance programs.
Implementation of a needle Reassign
exchange program that is located
in the higher-need areas.
Use of health impact assessment Reassign
tools.
Monitoring (the percentage of) Retain
Board of Health reports on
health statuses that include
disaggregation of data by social
determinants of health where
possible
Role 2--Modify/ The number of current culturally Retain
reorient public sensitive policies, programs or
health programs strategies employed; the type of
culturally sensitive policies,
programs or strategies employed;
the perceived effectiveness of
culturally sensitive policies,
programs or strategies.
Assessment of whether the Retain
organization is conducting
equity-focused performance
assessments; use of pre-existing
Health Equity Assessment tools.
Use of indicators that are Remove item
specific to issues of importance
to Aboriginal communities.
Assessment of whether the Remove item
organization is conducting
gender and equity analysis for
the purpose of program planning.
Assessment of strategies used to Retain
support opportunities to
increase the capacity of
underserved populations.
Assessment of plans for capacity Reassign
building with relevant staff in
population health thinking
(e.g., through education and
training).*
Employment of a mechanism to Reassign
ensure that operational planning
includes a health equity
assessment of programs and
services.*
Evaluation of how programs and Reassign
services have changed or been
developed based on the health
equity assessment.*
Following a strategic plan that Reassign
describes how equity will be
addressed.*
Following a current operational Reassign
plan that incorporates the
identification and planning for
priority populations? If yes,
what is the process?*
Role 3--Engage in Work/efforts/strategies to Reassign
community and reduce language barriers to
multisectoral equitable access.
collaboration
Strategies for the development Retain
of community capacity.
Involvement of vulnerable youth Remove item
populations in community
decision-making.
Involvement of elder populations Remove item
in community decision-making.
Participation (by the Retain
organization) in local poverty
reduction efforts.
Role 4--Lead/ The number of new diversity and Remove items
support/participate anti-racist policies; the types
with others of new diversity and anti-racist
policies; the
perceived effectiveness of the
new diversity and anti-racist
policies.
The number and type of diversity Reassign
among the organization
workforce, especially managers
in proportion to the diversity
in the general population.
The number of community needs Reassign
assessments that have been
conducted (within an assigned
period of time).
Note: Indicators appearing in bold were obtained from alPHa-OPHA.
(17) Items followed by an asterisk were identified by the content
experts as best fitting an additional organizational or systems
category to be developed.
Table 3. Gaps in assessment by role as identified by expert
informants
Indicators or concepts identified as missing
by the expert participants
Role 1--Assessing and * Indicators that address engagement of the
reporting on health community or provision of results to foster
status and community discussion, etc.
what could be done to * Early childhood education
improve it * Disaggregation of data by SDoH/attention
to SDoH and equity issues
Role 2--Modify/reorient * Standardized, precise language
public health programs * Address issues of importance in a greater
number of identifiable communities
* There are no health outcomes listed
* No engagement with the community
* Understanding of existing services
* Representation of underlying values
Role 3--Engage in * Representation of underlying values
community * Collaborations/partnerships; stakeholders
and multisectoral * Who is vulnerable; who is affected by
collaboration health equity?
* Early childhood education
Role 4--Lead/support/ * Types of advocacy activities,
participate collaborations
* Indicators focused more
directly on policy development
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