Health Care Surveys of the General Population, Plans, Professionals, Programs, and Employers

General Population Surveys | Surveys of Health Plans and Health Care Facilities | Surveys of Plans and Health Care Facilities | Surveys of Programs | Employer Surveys | Coalition Surveys

Collecting and managing high-quality information is a central part of Mathematica's core business. Our survey researchers, methodologists, statisticians, operations experts, and systems developers design and conduct surveys of diverse populations, including women and children, low-income families, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, frail elderly people, those with chronic diseases, incarcerated individuals, and many other groups. We also are experts in surveying plans; providers, including health professionals and paraprofessionals; programs; employers; and stakeholder coalitions. We are skilled in collecting information in various modes, including the internet, telephone, mail, and in person, and offer a large cadre of bilingual interviewers. Our subject matter expertise ranges from health insurance initiatives to disease management programs to health care quality assessment, and we offer clients full integration of survey and research services. Every step of the way, we take pride in being innovators in the field, responding to new challenges, developing better methods, and setting higher standards to deliver the highest quality results.

General Population Surveys

Our surveys capture people's experiences as they navigate the U.S. health care system. In one of our largest surveys to date, the Community Tracking Study, we interviewed 33,000 families every two years to track changes in the health system in 60 communities throughout the nation. We have conducted many state and local surveys designed to examine health insurance coverage. For example, our SCHIP evaluation survey interviewed close to 20,000 parents, using computer-assisted telephone interviewing with in-person followup. We have also conducted longitudinal surveys of enrollees in Medicare and Medicaid, such as those with disabilities in the Cash and Counseling demonstration, and have interviewed adolescents on risk-taking behavior and other sensitive topics. To help states collect and compare their data consistently, we developed common survey instruments for specific populations.

Surveys of Health Professionals

Recruitment and retention are major concerns for the health care workforce. We are widely experienced in surveys of health care professionals and paraprofessionals. We have conducted surveys of physicians, both in general practice and specialty fields, and examined the effectiveness of recruitment programs for physicians, pharmacists, and chiropractors. To help increase access to health care through improving the composition and distribution of the workforce, we surveyed graduate nurses. Our survey of education and training programs helped shed light on ways to attract diverse and well-trained staff in underserved areas. Because physicians provide important perspective on how health care delivery is changing, we designed the sample, estimation methods, and public use documentation for the physician surveys in the Community Tracking Study. The surveys include questions about source of practice revenue, problems in practicing medicine, quality of care, access to services, information technology, and other topics.

Surveys of Plans and Health Care Facilities

Studying facilities that provide health care can help policymakers, planners, and others understand changes in the use of resources, monitor specific diseases, and examine the impact of new technology. For many years, Mathematica has surveyed institutions in different communities and markets. For example, since 1997 we have conducted the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, a mixed-mode annual census (mail with web and telephone followup) of 18,000 drug treatment facilities in the United States that produces a directory searchable by location and type of treatment provided, as well as estimates of the number of clients receiving each service. Useful for looking at differences across states, the data can also help track trends longitudinally. Similarly, we helped develop and operate a surveillance system of treatment outcomes. We have conducted many surveys of other types of health care institutions, including community health centers, health plans, hospitals, and National Health Service Corps sites, including a national survey focused on hospital quality improvement efforts. We are using medical records abstraction to examine other quality initiatives, such as programs designed to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diseases.

Surveys of Programs

Surveys of programs can provide insights into whether they are operating effectively and achieving their objectives. Mathematica is conducting a nationwide web-based survey of all 750 Early Head Start programs, which provide family development and health care services, to assist in program improvement. Similarly, we are surveying program directors in Healthy Start, which began in 1991 in response to concerns about high infant mortality rates and now includes 96 projects in 37 states. We are examining factors related to successful implementation, as well as the relationship between program features and results. The survey is collecting data about outreach, case management, health education, smoking cessation, perinatal depression, and other topics.

Employer Surveys

Surveys of employers can provide insights into their responses and attitudes toward legislative initiatives, wage and insurance issues, workforce development and training, and other concerns. We have conducted a wide variety of employer surveys, including state-level studies that investigate health care costs and coverage, knowledge of mental health and substance abuse parity mandates, and attitudes toward tobacco control.

Coalition Surveys

As government resources shrink, coalitions of citizens, businesses, and government often work together to maximize the impact of their efforts. We have expertise in surveys of broad-based partnerships involved in health care service delivery. We are conducting a large-scale survey examining alliances throughout the country charged with developing community approaches to long-term care. We have surveyed state and local coalitions attempting to increase enrollment in SCHIP and Medicaid. Another study is using environmental scans and surveys of community-level collaborations to document models for preventing domestic violence that could be replicated and expanded in other locations.

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