Interviewing Stakeholders to Improve Models and Analytic Tools
MADMC interviewed over 70 stakeholders in Minnesota to identify ways to improve the use and design of analytic tools that support public health policy and decision making. Findings from these listening sessions have been instrumental for ensuring MADMC’s analytic tools are easy-to-use, trusted, and meet the real-world needs of decision makers.
Our Work
Stakeholders from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), local public health, and health systems were interviewed about how they used data dashboards, models, and other analytic tools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interview notes were coded and analyzed to better understand tool use cases, facilitators and barriers of tool use, and areas to improve. Results from interviews with 31 staff members at MDH found that the most substantial gaps in effectively using models and analytic tools during the COVID-19 response were communication and collaboration between tool developers, decision makers, and public health users.
Key recommendations for future analytic and modeling work are:
- Involve public health users throughout tool development and dissemination phases to establish buy-in and trust, to ensure effective communication, and to generate productive collaborations.
- Integrate more tools into everyday (non-emergency) public health practice alongside training on analytic methods
- Outline clear plans of how and when to use models and analytic tools in public health responses in advance of emergency situations.
