AcademyHealth
AcademyHealth is a leading national organization serving the fields
of health services and policy research and the professionals who
produce and use this important work.
Together with our members, we offer programs and services that
support the development and use of rigorous, relevant and timely
evidence to:
1. Increase the quality, accessibility and value
of health care,
2. Reduce disparities, and
3. Improve health.
A trusted broker of information, AcademyHealth
brings stakeholders together to address the current
and future needs of an evolving health system,
inform health policy, and translate evidence into action.
1
AcademyHealth and CAHMI
Partnership

Partnership focus is on promoting well-being and
healing for children through an applied focus on the
prevention and management of adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs) in children, youth, and families
– Specifically interested in transforming roles of health providers and health
systems to identify, prevent and address ACEs in their communities and
promote healing and positive health attributes that may buffer, prevent and
attenuate the intergenerational cycle of ACEs.

Partnership activities will result in an agenda on
research and policy priorities to address ACEs and
communications infrastructure an materials to
engage the field in continued collaboration and
collective action
Project Scope

The project will focus at
three levels on this
issue:
– The clinician/family level
– The healthcare
organization level,
including hospitals,
clinics, and health plans.
– The health policy level

For each level, we are asking:
– What do we know about ACEs
and promoting child
development and well-being.
– What do we know about how
ACEs are currently addressed?
– What evidence exists?
– What research questions are of
highest priority to address?
– What actions can be taken at
each level?
Overview of project activities

Work with leading experts and stakeholders in child
well-being and ACEs;

Publish a series of articles on the state of the science
and practice in leading journals;

Develop a research and action agenda through
iterative, crowdsourcing methods;

Produce Champions Communications Toolkit to
advance agenda.
Process and Methods
Discovery phase
Synthesis phase
Dissemination phase
Discovery: Process and Methods
March-June 2014: Convene starting working group and
specify goals and priorities for summit meeting and agenda
March-June ‘14 and Ongoing: Conduct an environmental
scan of research and initiatives
June 5-6, 2014: Convene early stage partners to review and
further specify goals, priorities and to strengthen relationships,
collaboration and facilitate shared vision
Wordle generated from
“Co-Digital” input on
“What concrete output
should we leave the
meeting with”
Synthesis: Process and Methods
July-September ‘14: Convene working group to
•
agree on core summit meeting summary and core themes
and components for emerging research agenda
•
identify topics and focus for a series of papers to
commission and publish on what is known and
recommendations for research and action.
•
further refine the environmental scan and project niche
October-December ‘14: Invite and gain agreement from
identified candidate paper author leads.
March ‘14-ongoing: propose and procure additional funding
to ensure full funds available to commission all envisioned
papers and public special journal issue
Synthesis: Process and Methods
January-March ‘14: Launch start of commissioned papers (to
be completed Summer, 2015)
April-December ‘14: Research and write baseline paper on
ACEs in children in the US (Health Affairs, December ‘14)
July-November ‘14: Assess capacity of NSCH to produce local
reports on ACEs and develop for key ACEs summit meetings
focused on counties/cities.
July ‘14-January ‘15: Develop short video based on June
meeting; Develop a basic web presence to communicate about
the project and continue to update and convene working groups
as possible and needed.
Dissemination: Process and Methods
September-ongoing: Submit abstracts and proposals to report
on and further evolve a collective action approach to advancing
the promotion of early and lifelong health through an effective
approach to ACEs.
October-February 2014: Plan for and conduct a special panel
at National Child Health Policy Conference in DC—early review
and dialogue on agenda
February-December 2015: Publish papers; complete version
1.0 of agenda; complete “Champions Toolkit”; evolve project;
disseminate;
Collective Insight Questions
Question 1: What should the specific goals of our community be related to
ACEs and resilience? (e.g. the child health services research and policy
community.
Question 2: What are the research questions, policy actions and existing
efforts to consider as priorities in an agenda.
Emerging Scope of Agenda
Organization and
financing of health
systems and
services
Access &
coordination and
services and
resources
Health professions
work force capacity,
training and support
Six Fundamental
Health Services and
Policy Research
Domains
Practitioner & family
engagement,
communication &
behavior
Clinical evaluation
and outcomes
research
Measurement,
informatics and
clinical decision
making
Emerging Agenda
Components
Three interlocking components comprise the emerging
research and action agenda as outlined below.



Component #1: Functions and Types of Research
Component #2: Priority Topics and Focal Areas
Component #3: Short Term Collaborative Actions
Component #1: Functions
and Types of Research
Design & Develop: synthesize existing knowledge and design and
develop new translational knowledge, methods, and tools
Implement & Evaluate: adapt, implement, and evaluate existing and
emerging strategies to prevent and buffer impact of ACEs to promote wellbeing
Educate & Communicate: assess existing awareness and contribute to
public, provider and stakeholder education and awareness, knowledge and
action.
Disseminate & Support: develop methods and capacity to scale,
spread and support effective prevention, intervention, and training models
in the field
Component #2: Priority
Topics and Focal Areas
Meanings and Measures: Advance standardization of definitions,
measures, and data
Core Science: Promote research to address gaps in science especially
pertinent to policy and practice
Public Health: Understand public health impact and opportunities for
translation of knowledge into public health practice
Communities: Know what a healthy community is and how to address
ACEs through community based collaborations and efforts
Economics: Define and measure economic impact of ACEs and return on
investment through effectively addressing ACEs
Component #3: Short Term
Collaborative Actions
Move the Game Board: Define a conceptual map and model to clarify
definitions and foster shifts in mindset and norms to facilitate collective
action
Continuous Translation and Improvement: Synthesis, dissemination,
translation, and ongoing assessment of existing models, methods, and
practices
Training and Capacity Building: Provider, community, and family
education and training
Policy platform and demonstration: Define recommendations to align
health reform and systems design with needs and health improvement
opportunities
Partnering and Participation
Visit the AMCHP CAHMI DRC booth #6
and poster #PA5 (Sunday PM and
Monday AM)
www.cahmi.org (select adverse childhood experiences
under “projects”)
www.academyhealth.org/ACES
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Possible Questions to
Consider This Morning
What should be the goals of the MCH community be
related to ACEs and resilience and positive health
development?
What research questions, program and policy actions
and current programs should be considered as priorities
in an agenda? Why is now a good time for a broader
focus on ACES in health policy?
(OR) Possible Questions to
Consider This Morning
Why is now a good time for a broader focus on ACES in
MCH?
What will it take for the MCH community and health
care system to respond to ACES?
What do health policymakers, program leaders and the
public need to know about ACES?
What are the most significant barriers to an improved
MCH response to ACES?
If there is one thing you could change in health policy to
make progress on ACES, what would it be?