Rapid Assessment with Qualitative Telephone Interviews: Lessons from an Evaluation of California’s Healthy Families Program & Medi-Cal for Children

Abstract

California’s Healthy Families/Medi-Cal for Children (HF/MCC) program provides low- and no-cost health insurance to low-income children. In December 1999 and January 2000, 72 community-based organizations (CBOs) were contracted by California’s Department of Health Services (DHS) to supply culturally appropriate HF/MCC outreach and enrollment services. This article describes the incorporation of a qualitative telephone interview component for rapid assessment purposes after the planned quantitative analysis of program records faltered in 2001 due to missing, invalid, and unreliable data. We describe the rapid interview protocol and discuss benefits and barriers. The protocol can serve as a model for others interested in using rapid qualitative telephone interviews within their own evaluation efforts.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Barents Group LLC . (2000). Review of the literature on evaluations of outreach for public health insurance and selected other programs (Final Report). Washington, DC: Barents Group LLC.

Bernard, H. R. (1995). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

Connors, J. L. , & Romberg, T. A. (1991). Middle management and quality control: Strategies for obstructionism. Human Organization, 50, 61-65.

Hahn, R. A. (1999). Anthropology and the enhancement of public health practice. In R. A. Hahn (Ed.), Anthropology in public health: Bridging differences in culture and society (pp. 3-24). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Justice, J. (1989). Policies, plans, and people: Foreign aid and health development. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.

Manderson, L. , & Aaby, P. (1992). An epidemic in the field? Rapid assessment procedures and health research. Social Science and Medicine, 35, 839-850.

Pelto, P. J. , & Pelto, G. H. (1997). Studying knowledge, culture, and behavior in applied medical anthropology. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 11, 147-163.

Perry, M. , Stark, E. , & Valdez, R. B. (1998). Barriers to Medi-Cal enrollment and ideas for improving enrollment: Findings from eight focus groups in California with parents of potentially eligible children. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.

Satter, D. E. , & Brown, E. R. (2000). Focus groups suggest new strategies are needed to reach uninsured children in low-income families. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

10.

Sobo, E. , Billman, G. , Lim, L. , et al. (2002). A rapid interview protocol supporting patient-centered quality improvement: Hearing the parent’s voice in a pediatric cancer unit. Joint Commission Journal on Quality Improvement, 28, 498-509.

11.

Secretary of Health and Human Services . (2000). Report to the President on school-based outreach for children’s health insurance. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

12.

Williams, D. (2000). Outreach early lessons from San Diego Kids Health Assurance Network (KHAN). Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Project Directors’ Meeting, Bethesda, MD.