Health Assessment

OMNI’s mixed-methods research teams bring deep expertise in the design and execution of community health and other assessments. Our equity focus, coupled with authentic community engagement strategies, brings to life the real issues that communities are grappling with surrounding health. We explore root causes of community health and partner with clients across the country throughout all stages of the assessment process. OMNI bolsters the effectiveness of its research and evaluation services with complementary capacity-building services provided by staff who bring specializations in the provision of training and technical assistance, community outreach and engagement, strategic planning, and facilitation. This dual expertise makes us uniquely effective in conducting strategic planning processes based on the results of health assessments specifically, as well as engaging in strategic thought partnerships with clients generally to conduct actionable assessments that require the synthesis of complex data to shape strategy and elucidate impact.

Select your health assessment area of interest:

Community Health Assessment

OMNI’s Community Health Assessment Process

OMNI’s process is collaborative and tailored to meet our clients’ specific needs. However, in general, a community health assessment process includes:

LISTEN: Collaboration, Triangulation, Innovation Podcast

A discussion of emerging Community Health Assessment methods for shared responsibility in data-driven decision-making between public health leaders and community

Project Examples

Elbert County Community Health Assessment

In 2022 OMNI collaborated with Elbert County Public Health Department to conduct a community health assessment to set priorities for the next five years as a part of their Colorado Health Assessment and Planning System (CHAPS) process. OMNI’s assessment included a review of publicly available data to explore indicators of health and to identify potential gaps or needs in the community, including availability of healthcare providers and support services. OMNI also developed and administered a community survey to identify health priorities as perceived by residents of Elbert County. OMNI’s work accompanied qualitative data collection efforts led internally by Elbert County Public Health Department. https://omni.org/elbert-community-health-assessment

Summit County Community Health Assessment

In 2022, Summit County Public Health and St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, Centura Health partnered with OMNI to conduct Summit County’s community health needs assessment and corresponding strategic Community Health Improvement Plan for 2023 - 2028. The community health needs assessment process took place between February and May of 2022 and included comprehensive input from community leaders and community members. The work of the assessment was guided by a Steering Committee comprised of members from the Summit County Health Care Collaborative, with the addition of other leaders from organizations across the county who have a voice in shaping programs and policy related to community health. http://omni.org/summit-community-health-assessment

Teller County Community Health Assessment

In 2022 Teller County Public Health and Environment (TCPHE) contracted with OMNI Institute to support their Colorado Health Assessment and Planning System (CHAPS) process. OMNI supported TCPHE’s assessment efforts through the development and implementation of a community survey and facilitation of focus groups that included a youth and healthcare provider focus group. Data provided supported TCPHE’s development of their public health improvement plan for submission to the Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships. https://omni.org/teller-cha-report

DeKalb County Community Health Assessment

OMNI is currently partnering with the DeKalb County Board of Health to conduct a community health assessment in DeKalb County, Georgia, with the aim of identifying strategic areas of health improvement focused on the topics of nutrition, physical activity, and community/clinical linkages to care. Through secondary indicator data, community survey, focus groups, key informant interviews, community townhalls, and the guidance of a local Steering Community, OMNI is working with collaboration from the county on engaging community driven voice in designing future health efforts.

Behavioral Health Assessment

OMNI has a depth of experience in assessments focused specifically on behavioral health needs and planning. Often, these assessments are used to drive funding decisions, focus programs and strategies on targeted behavioral health goals, or respond to emerging behavioral health issues.

Project Examples

Virginia Prevention Planning

OMNI has supported multiple needs assessment and strategic planning efforts within Virginia. At the state level, OMNI worked with DBHDS to facilitate a data-driven strategic planning process to refine the way they fund and approach prevention services with a goal of moving them from funding a large number of diffuse prevention strategies to a more focused set of strategies that would yield larger impact. To do this, we first supported a comprehensive needs assessment process, utilizing secondary indicator and data from local communities. From there, we worked closely with the DBHDS leadership team to facilitate a process using various prioritization and consensus-building steps to identify the most important prevention priorities for the state to focus on. Final priority areas were shared with community partners and agency staff throughout Virginia in a series of town halls and focus groups to understand if identified priorities resonated with local need. The finalized priorities were mapped to specific prevention strategies for communities to implement, a restructured process for DBHDS to make funding decisions, and evaluation metrics to monitor progress over the next several years. We have also supported each of their 40 sub-recipient organizations in local needs assessment and strategic planning processes to align with state funding priorities and to streamline implementation monitoring and evaluation.

Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS)

This project is a partnership with OCFS to conduct a statewide needs assessment on the adolescent behavioral health system in Virginia, including barriers to service access and delivery, and needs relative to prevention, intervention, and recovery services. We are beginning phase two of this work which will focus on behavioral health systems mapping and capacity assessment to identify and address gaps in care; strategic planning for statewide and regional behavioral health plans; and implementation plans, feasibility study, and evaluation design for subsequent strategy implementation.

Boulder County, Colorado Linkages to Care for Behavioral Health

OMNI worked with Boulder County in 2019 to conduct a comprehensive assessment to develop recommendations for a countywide approach to linking people to care for behavioral health needs. Part of that work included engagement and facilitation of a variety of different workgroups employing a highly collaborative process with representatives across departments in Boulder County—public health, behavioral health providers, community services, schools, law enforcement, jails, and district attorneys. Planning and discussions were informed by multiple sources of data and ensured community experts and teams were brought together to innovate and advance possible solutions. Throughout, we implemented various facilitation processes customized to the audiences of each group to maximize engagement and achieve desired outcomes. After compiling information from the workgroup facilitations, OMNI was tasked with developing initial recommendations for strategy implementation, which Boulder County adopted and has continued to move forward through implementation stages.  OMNI continues to partner with Boulder County in ongoing evaluation of behavioral health-focused programs within the county and the county’s strategic efforts to better coordinate behavioral healthcare services and ensure residents are connected to the right care when and where they need it. Resulting deliverables include:

Clear Creek County, Colorado Behavioral Health Assessment and Priority Identification

OMNI partnered with Clear Creek County from 2020-2022 to provide an assessment of behavioral health needs and services in the county to support data-driven decisions on allocating the county's CARES funding. This project was grounded in an analysis of historical data about behavioral health needs, gaps, services, and supports, and focused on identifying opportunities for enhancing the behavioral health system in the county, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. OMNI led community discussions, interviews, and facilitated sessions with county leadership, services providers, and community members to gain a nuanced understanding of current needs and opportunities related to behavioral health in the county. From there, a set of priorities specific to Clear Creek County were developed to address behavioral health needs across the county. OMNI facilitated a prioritization process with a diverse group of participants, including behavioral health service providers, law enforcement, community volunteers, and representatives from cornerstone organizations and county government, to elevate the most impactful ideas into a prioritized list. This list was presented to the Board of County Commissioners with recommendations for how to fund and implement these within the community.

Opioid Abatement & Assessment Planning

A specific subset of OMNI’s projects focus even more narrowly on opioid abatement and facilitating planning processes to support the allocation of opioid-specific funding such as Opioid Settlement Funds.

Project Examples

Northeast Colorado Health Department (NCHD) Opioid Community Assessment

In 2020, OMNI conducted a needs assessment in collaboration with NCHD to assess opioid-related needs, resources, and priorities in NCHD’s six-county catchment area. This work began with a scan of available secondary data which was then prioritized based on NCHD’s chosen areas of focus. OMNI produced a summary report of secondary data that integrated information from a variety of sources, with the aim to view data at the region and county level as much as possible and present it in accessible formats suitable for community member input. To complement the summary report of secondary data, OMNI also collected input via a survey of healthcare providers, law enforcement officials, and other community partners to identify where to focus efforts. The resulting report and slides summarized the findings and priorities for NCHD to address opioid misuse with the community. Final Report: https://omni.org/nchd-needs-assessment.  

Region 4 Colorado Two-Year Opioid Abatement Plan Development

Beginning in early 2022, OMNI has supported Northeast Colorado Region 4 (Elbert, Lincoln, Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Yuma, Washington, Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, and Phillips counties) with the development and implementation of their Two-Year Opioid Abatement Plan through facilitation of assessment, planning, and implementation sessions with the Region 4 Council. OMNI initially worked with the Council to identify, collect, and organize current relevant opioid-related data that was available to utilize for a needs assessment process. In addition to pulling secondary data, OMNI conducted key informant interviews with partners affiliated with the behavioral health systems serving the area to gather additional data on the opioid crisis in the region. OMNI then facilitated several sessions with the Region 4 Council to review the data to determine areas of need and home in on potential priorities for the region aligned with allowable uses in the Opioid Settlement Funding MOU.

The Montrose County, Colorado Opioid Planning Consortium (MOPC)

The MOPC consists of seven member organizations and was formed in 2019. Through a previous needs assessment effort, the MOPC identified key findings and community trends alongside available resources to highlight gaps and opportunities to reduce the negative consequence of opioid use. OMNI staff supported the MOPC in a strategic planning process to utilize the needs assessment findings to develop and define goals, objectives, and strategies to address their top three priorities for the next three years. In addition to a final 3-year strategic plan, we also developed evaluation plans that include process, short-term, mid-term, and long-term outcomes the Consortium hopes to achieve.

Other Health Assessment

In addition to a specialization in community health assessment and behavioral health assessment projects, OMNI brings a depth of experience across diverse content in other areas of health assessment. Similar to our other assessment work, these projects focus on understanding areas of strength and need related to public health in various communities.

Project Examples

Denver and Colorado HIV Needs Assessment

OMNI recently completed the Colorado Coordinated Statement of Need—a 5-year strategic plan that will guide HIV-related prevention, planning, and service delivery in Denver and across the state of Colorado. Efforts included direct engagement with communities in Denver to gather qualitative and quantitative data around service gaps and strategies needed to support effective HIV prevention and care. Numerous behavioral health providers engaged in this process, giving us insight into intersecting behavioral health issues. https://www.omni.org/colorado-statement-of-need-hiv  

Wyoming Maternal & Child Health Unit Assessment

The Maternal and Child Health Unit at the Wyoming Department of Health partnered with OMNI to carry out a qualitative assessment to better understand community perspectives around well-child visits, infant safe sleep practices, special healthcare needs, and well-woman visits. An additional area of inquiry was developed to hear from LGBTQA+ community members about affirming care. This assessment utilized mixed methods, relying primarily on qualitative data collection (key informant interviews and focus groups), coupled with a short survey for providers.