506 Connections IN Health: A Model for Coalition Building?

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Participants will learn about the Connections IN Health partnership. Participants will learn about the mixed-methods, multi-level evaluation model used to evaluate health coalitions. Participants will learn about how the Connections IN Health partnership promoted coalition growth among Indiana chronic disease coalitions. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Chronic disease coalitions under the Connections IN Health (CINH) partnership were evaluated using a novel mixed-methods, multi-level evaluation framework that triangulates coalition functioning and effectiveness (F/E) surveys, social network analysis (SNA), and health data. F/E and SNA surveys were distributed to active coalition members of the chronic disease coalitions before, 1 year, and 2 years after CINH was implemented. F/E data was analyzed to detect significant changes in coalition members’ perceptions of coalition functioning and effectiveness using unpaired, two sample t-tests in R. SNA data was analyzed to detect changes in partnership networks over time, such as membership growth and strength of connections using R software. County-level health data will be evaluated at year 5. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The results of our longitudinal analysis of perceptions of functioning and effectiveness demonstrated significant increases in perceived leadership, satisfaction with the coalition, outcome efficacy, and members’ commitment to the coalition after Connections IN Health (CINH) was implemented. Social network analysis (SNA) demonstrated growth of coalition membership and strength of connections over time, including health information sharing, formal relationships, trust, and communication. SNA results also demonstrated increases in centralization and clustering among local vs. statewide organizations in coalition networks over time. Results were shared back with coalition members to make data-driven decisions about future coalition processes and functioning. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Health coalitions are a nationally recognized vehicle to promote and translate evidence-based practices to communities; however, evidence to support their effectiveness is limited at best. Our results provide evidence of CINH’s efficacy and identifies factors required to build effective and sustainable health coalitions.