The Public Health Foundation (PHF) worked with the Department of Public Health at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and its community partners to develop a population health driver diagram designed to improve the perinatal health system in East Tennessee with a focus on neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS refers to the array of health issues that occur in a newborn that has been exposed to opiate drugs in utero and was identified as a target priority area for East Tennessee.
The Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Driver Diagram was developed as a collaboration among 25 community stakeholders. Dr. Jack Moran, PHF’s Senior Quality Advisor, helped to facilitate a stakeholder meeting to identify the AIM of the population health driver diagram, as well as primary and secondary drivers for achieving that stated AIM. Once the group of interdisciplinary community members had come to consensus about the AIM and drivers for the driver diagram, the completed draft of the driver diagram was distributed by the group members to their colleagues in the community for feedback. The identified primary drivers were utilization of care, integration of services, and healthy behaviors and supporting environments.
For more information about this initiative or other opportunities to use a population health driver diagram, please contact Vanessa Lamers at vlamers@phf.org or (202)218-4412.
For further examples on how health departments and their partners are working to address the opioid and heroin crisises, see PHF's webinar, How Local Public Health is Tackling the Opioid Crisis, presented with the Bio-Defense Network.
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