AHRQ Evaluation

The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) commissioned an evaluation to identify how MONAHRQ was being used and by whom to better guide future efforts in expanding and improving upon the software. The evaluation was also intended to help AHRQ better understand the environment in which comparative health information is developed and presented and where the MONAHRQ software fit in this environment. The evaluation included: Contextual research and analysis, including a scan of statutes mandating public reporting; an analysis of the landscape of public reporting resources; an analysis of MONAHRQ’s position in the field; and an analysis of MONAHRQ web metrics. Key Informant interviews and follow-on focus groups were conducted with a variety of central audiences. This phase included current host users, prospective host users, policymakers and consumers. Participants in focus group discussions viewed a MONAHRQ 5.0-generated Web site. Participants in the second round of Key Informant Interviews with simulation, navigated a MONAHRQ 6.0-generated Web site. Near the end of the second phase of the research it was determined that an additional phase of data collection with small groups of carefully defined respondents as they utilized a best-in-class MONAHRQ-generated Web site would materially enrich the findings. The respondents for this phase included: researchers, policymakers, clinicians, and additional consumers. The results were provided in an interactive briefing and in an accessible, action-focused report. The work was characterized by the program officer: “The contractor has provided exceptional work to inform the government of the viability and utility of MONAHRQ.”