Developing Thoughtful and Effective Programs
Ensuring programs are aligned with agencies’ missions and business objectives and achieve expected outcomes requires a balanced interplay of a well-thought-out strategy, subject-matter expertise, and in-depth knowledge of proven business practices. Working closely with clients, DB establishes realistic outcomes, reviews and evaluates progress to ensure a program is moving in the right direction, and refines or reworks practices and processes when needed.

DB’s program planning and development services and/or deliverables include:

Strategic planning

Organizational design and staffing

Program performance evaluation and measurement

Requirements management

Capacity building

Program documentation and program management plans

Regulatory review

DB has applied its program planning and development expertise to the following projects:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP): DB explored strategies to integrate rapid HIV testing and modified counseling into emergency room evaluation and assessment procedures. We developed train-the-trainer curriculum, as well as delivered the training to clinic and emergency room staff. As a result, staff members built their competencies in performing the test and delivering positive results. DB also recruited teams of stakeholders from hospitals to promote the implementation of rapid HIV testing. All aspects of meetings, where healthcare professional were exposed to a spectrum of issues related to implementing a science-based protocol like the HIV-rapid test, were managed by DB.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Clinical Standards and Quality: This study was based on the supposition that high-quality health services are effective, humane, equitable, efficient, and sustainable. DB designed the study’s technical approach, incorporating processes that had produced positive health outcomes in other chronic disease self-management programs. After the study was launched, DB tracked a group of underserved Medicare diabetes patients among participating providers in west Tennessee. We abstracted clinical case files, measuring clinical outcomes of patients before and after they attended self-management education courses, and monitored participating patients’ medical records. For following phases of the study, DB will develop and implement strategies and activities to recruit more providers into the study.

Research and policy studies
Health communications and social marketing
Health informatics