Key Informant Interviews on Systems Change

Project LAUNCH Key Informant Interview on Systems Change Discussion Protocol:
LAUNCH Community

INFORMED CONSENT FORM FOR RESEARCH PARTICIPATION

PROJECT LAUNCH KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW ON SYSTEMS CHANGE*

We are conducting a study to learn about the social and emotional development of children from birth to eight years of age. This study is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB number: 0970-0373; Expiration date: XX/XX/XXXX. By collecting information from program directors and other knowledgeable staff, we seek to gain a better understanding of systems change activities that are being conducted in your community to further child health and well-being.

If you choose to participate, you will be interviewed by phone. It will take about 60 minutes. We may ask you to participate in the same interview once more next year.

There are no risks in participating in this research beyond those experienced in everyday life. However, some of the questions are personal and may make you uncomfortable. Your participation in this study is voluntary. You can stop at any time, and you do not have to answer any questions you do not want to answer. Refusal to take part in or withdrawing from this study will not involve any penalty or loss of benefits you would receive otherwise.

Your responses will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. All findings will be reported in aggregate. If there are any publications or presentations resulting from this research, no personally-identifiable information will be shared because your name will not be linked to your answers. If you choose to withdraw from the study, we will maintain and analyze the data collected up to the time of withdrawal. However, if you request that we destroy all of your data and exclude your responses from the study results, we will honor your request.

To ensure that we capture your responses accurately, we will be recording the interview. The recording will be used to produce a transcript of our conversation. At the conclusion of the study, the recording will be destroyed.

Please contact Shannon TenBroeck, a member of the evaluation team at NORC, at (415) 315-2006 with questions, complaints, or concerns about this research. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the NORC Institutional Review Board (IRB) Manager by toll-free phone number at (866) 309-0542.

You must be 18 years of age or older to take part in this research study. If you agree to take part in this research study – and have the interview recorded - please sign your name and indicate the date below. You will be given a copy of this consent form for your records.

_____________________________________________ _____________________

Participant Signature Date

Contacting you about future research:

This study will collect data from the same individuals once per year for a total of two years. As such, we plan to keep your contact information on file for two years and contact you about participating in future parts of this study.

If you are interested in participating in future parts of this study and agree to your contact information being held in a secure location, please initial below.

_______________

Participant Initials

* The informed consent will be read to the participant at the beginning of the interview. In lieu of a signature, participants will provide consent verbally.

Discussion Protocol

1. Demographic Information

1. What is your name?

2. What is your role on Project LAUNCH?

   • LAUNCH Project Director

   • Young Child Wellness Expert

   • Young Child Wellness Partner

   • LAUNCH Local Evaluator

   • Young Child Wellness Coordinator

   • Other (describe): _________________

3. If Young Child Wellness Coordinator, at which level?

   • Community

   • Tribe

4. What agency or organization do you work for?

5. How long have you been involved with Project LAUNCH?

2. Significant systems changes achieved

Before the interview, review the information from the grantee portal to identify the categories of systems change that have been achieved by the grantee, the information that was written in about the change, and the systems activities they reported working on that contributed to the change. Review these with the participant before beginning the questions. Ask the questions below for each systems change that was identified in the portal. If the participant identifies other systems changes that were not included in the portal, ask questions related to those changes in Section 3 below.

1. In the portal, you described that you achieved an outcome in ___________ systems outcome category (policies/guidelines, collaboration, or funding). The outcome that you described achieving was _____________________.

2. What was the process for achieving that change?

3. What factors facilitated the change?

4. What factors were barriers to the change?

5. Did any unexpected outcomes occur related to or as a result of the change?

   • Yes

   • No

6. If yes, what were the unexpected outcomes?

7. How were those unexpected outcomes handled?

8. How did the systems change vary across different individuals and/or stakeholders?

9. Are there further plans related to this change?

• Yes

• No

10. If yes, what are the further plans?

    • Additional work on this change at the current level. Please describe: ______________

    • Dissemination to regional or national level

    • Provide assistance to others who want to make this change

    • Other: ___________________

11. [For policy changes achieved during the reporting period]: What was the furthest stage of the policy process that was reached?

• Development

• Proposal

• Implementation

• Enforcement

• Don’t know

• Other: ___________________

3. Other systems changes not captured in portal

Before the interview, review the information from the grantee evaluation report to identify any systems changes that were achieved or proposed by the grantee, but were not reported in the grantee portal. Review this information with the participant prior to asking the questions in this section.

1. Have LAUNCH activities achieved other systems outcomes or had an impact on other systems-level changes during the reporting period that were not captured in the portal?

• Yes

• No

2. If yes, what were those changes?

• Policy, rule, or guideline changes; please describe: _________________

• Collaborative activities; please describe: _________________

• Funding; please describe: _________________

• Ability of agencies/organizations to pursue related goals, such as other child wellness outcomes; please describe: _________________

• Other: _______________________

3. What factors facilitated the change?

4. What factors were barriers to the change?

5. Are there future plans related to this change?

• Yes

• No

6. If yes, what are the further plans?

• Additional work on this change at the current level. Please describe: ______________

• Add in to LAUNCH scope of work or evaluation plans

• Dissemination to regional or national level

• Provide assistance to others who want to make this change

• Other: ________________

7. Did any unanticipated systems-level outcomes occur as a result of LAUNCH activities?

• Yes

• No

8. If yes, what were these systems-level outcomes?

9. Do you have plans to incorporate further activities or efforts related to these unanticipated outcomes in future years of LAUNCH?

   • Yes

   • No

10. If yes, what are the plans for future activities or efforts?

4. Systems changes not due to LAUNCH

Before the interview, review the information from the grantee portal to identify any systems changes that were identified, but not due to LAUNCH-related activities. Review these with the participant before beginning the questions in this section. Ask the questions below for each systems change that was identified in the portal.

1. Did any of the systems outcomes identified in the portal occur, but were not due to LAUNCH-related activities?

• Yes

• No

2. [If yes], what was the change?

3. To your knowledge, how was this change achieved?

4. Do you have plans to incorporate further work/change in this area into your next reporting period?

   • Yes

   • No

5. If yes, how do you plan to incorporate it?

   • Additional work on this change at the current level. Please describe: ______________

   • Add in to LAUNCH scope of work or evaluation plans

   • Other. Please describe: ______________

5. Future plans for systems activities/outcomes

Before the interview, review the grantee’s evaluation plan and report for the previous grant year for reference to future plans related to systems changes. Review these with the participant prior to the series of questions below.

1. Do you have plans for systems changes in the next reporting period?

• Yes

• No

2. [If yes] What are the plans for achieving systems-level changes in the next reporting period?

3. What are the expected facilitators of this change?

4. What are the expected barriers for this change?

6. How progress on systems outcomes relates to initial Project LAUNCH plans

1. Were systems-level needs identified in the initial needs assessment/environmental scan?

• Yes

• No

2. [If yes to #1] What systems-level needs were identified in your initial needs assessment/environmental scan?

3. Have additional systems-level needs been identified after LAUNCH implementation?

• Yes

• No

4. [If yes to #3] What are those needs?

5. [If yes to #3] How were those needs identified?

6. Are you able to effectively use your LAUNCH funding to address the identified systems-level needs?

• Yes

• No

7. [If yes to #6] Please explain how your LAUNCH funding effectively addresses the system-level needs.

8. [If no to #6] Please explain how your LAUNCH funding does not effectively address the systems-level needs.

9. Have there been any changes in your local community that have affected your ability to address systems-level outcomes?

• Yes

• No

10. [If yes to #9] What are those changes in the local community?

11. [If yes to #9] How has the LAUNCH program adapted over time to these changes in your local community?

12. Overall, what do you think is the most important factor that is necessary for change to occur at the systems level in the area of childhood health and wellness?

13. Has that factor been present in your community?

• Yes

• No

14. If so, can you describe it?

15. If not, why do you think it has not been present?
    
    
    
    

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