Help Seeking and Navigation Support

help seeking

Technology and human-centered navigation solutions have emerged in the last decade as ways to support individual help-seeking. The key idea behind these interventions is that it is confusing for individuals to identify which organizations offer benefits, programs, and services that they are eligible for and that the enrollment processes for these benefits, programs, and services may be a barrier. This pilot project examines the experiences of individuals who have received help or sought help but didn’t receive help. We will interview individuals about their experiences with help-seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Examining the Outcomes of Repeated Client Referrals Based on the Trajectories of Care:

The proposed study aims to introduce and validate a system-derived measure of the quality of client outcomes based upon trajectories of care. The focus will be on network performance, defined as “the longitudinal improvement of client well-being across multiple service episodes.” We will analyze data from Combined Arms, a collaborative network that provides support for veteran transition. This study will then aim to answer three questions: (1) What is the effectiveness of different pathways in the network over time? (2) Which referrals should be made first? (3) Which providers are most effective at each stage along the trajectory of care?

Collective Impact and Common Goals: A Study of Education Reform Networks

two girls doing school works

Collective impact suggests that cross-sector networks of businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits can work together to move the needle on educational outcomes in new ways. This research examines 26 education reform networks in communities across the United States. This mixed-methods research examines the factors including structures, governance, and processes that influence organizational, network, and community-level outcomes.

Improving Veterans Referrals by Optimizing Network Design in Response to COVID-19

sea people service uniform

AmericaServes is the United States’ first coordinated system of public, private, and nonprofit organizations working together in communities to serve veterans, transitioning service members, and their families. AmericaServes networks improve access to a full range of care and supportive services, including but not limited to, housing and shelter, employment, benefits navigation, income support, individual and family support, legal support, wellness, health, and food assistance. We will analyze data collected in their shared referral management and analytics platform.

 

This project has two goals. First, the study will examine how referral networks adapt to a substantial increase in the number of cases as a result of the secondary impacts of COVID-19 (i.e., economic downturn, disruption of service delivery mechanisms). Second, this research will utilize high-level analytics to understand how different network structures perform in the face of a surge of cases.