Grant Partners

This grant funded the development of a survey tool intended to longitudinally track the capacity of the outpatient behavioral health clinical workforce.

This grant funded the development and maintenance of of a centralized resource that documents and describes how Massachusetts, with support from the federal government, has implemented several policy and programmatic changes intended to promote continued access to health care services and health insurance coverage during the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

Project Directors: Megan Sandel, MD, MPH and Diana Cutts, MD

“Children's HealthWatch - Housing Vital Sign” is a one year project to develop a three-question screening tool to identify housing instability – to be called a “Housing Vital Sign.” While there is growing interest by health care providers in connecting patients to services that address social determinants of health, providers struggle to systematically identify which patients are in need of these services. There are currently no validated measures for universal use by health care providers for identifying housing hardships. This project aims to address that gap. Building on their experience developing and validating a two-question screening tool for food insecurity (Hunger Vital Sign™), the research team will leverage its database of nearly 60,000 patients to identify combinations of up to three housing instability questions with the highest association with adverse health and developmental outcomes among families with young children.

Project Director: Susan Crandall, PhD

“Inventory of Types of Social and Human Services in Massachusetts” is a one year project that will inform developing MassHealth accountable care organizations and others about the vast array of social and human services available in Massachusetts that support social determinants of health including: housing, food, transportation, fuel assistance, income assistance, and workforce development. The research team will develop a comprehensive overview of these programs to educate health care providers about how to readily leverage and refer to these programs when seeking to care for the holistic needs of their patients.

Project Director: Robert Seifert

“Churning in Massachusetts:  A Planning Study” is a one year project that will examine the feasibility of an updated study of “churning” in Massachusetts’ public health insurance programs, MassHealth and ConnectorCare. Churning is an important phenomenon in public programs because its existence indicates interruptions in health coverage, which often means breaks in continuity of care. The methodology for the planning project will include a literature review and a series of key informant interviews with consumer advocates, state officials, and provider and payer representatives. The information from these activities will then be synthesized into a preliminary research plan for a full study.