Number and percentage of clients supported through the City of Austin, including community-based preventative health screenings, who followed through with referrals to a healthcare provider or community resource
NOTE: 2021 and 2022 data for
this measure cannot be provided due to Public Health Nurses being deployed to
the COVID-19 and MPox Response. We will update this page with 2023 information when
these activities resume and data becomes available.
Austin Public Health Department provides preventative screenings through Public Health Nurses located at the Neighborhood Centers and through Health Equity mobile outreach. If these programs identify that a client is in need of a community-based service or healthcare provider as a result of the screening, they are referred. Clients that are referred are contacted to track the status of the referral. The measure reflects those clients that subsequently followed up on the referral.
Status
Austin residents are provided preventative health screenings through the quality of life mobile outreach van and through public health nurses located at neighborhood centers. The screenings include fasting blood sugar, blood pressure and other services. This metric reflects the number of residents that receive a screening service and are in need of healthcare or other community-based support.
Austin Public Health provides preventative screenings through Public Health Nurses located at Neighborhood Centers and through Health Equity Mobile Outreach. During 2020 - 2022 emerging needs required all Austin Public Health Nurses to be called into the COVID-19 response efforts. Public Health Nurses were called in to provide guidance, scheduling, and information through free public Nurse and Health Equity telephone lines for parents, school and childcare workers, businesses, health care professionals and the general public. Additionally, nursing staff were called in to the front-lines of testing and vaccination efforts as Austin Public Health was designated a Central Texas Vaccination Hub. In 2022 Public Health Nurses continued to serve as they responded to Austin Public Health's Mpox emergency response and vaccination efforts. Public Health Nurses have continued to provide support for public health emergencies since 2020 and are now able to resume outreach activities in 2023.
Note: Not all clients require a referral.
Trending
Year over year Austin Public Health has successfully connected a majority of the clients that need a healthcare or community resource referral. While this metric is trending just below the target, it is important to note that the clients reached through these services are the most vulnerable and hardest to reach populations in our community. Many have few to no resources including transportation, housing, and consistent method for contacting them. City staff continuously reach out to try to sustain contact until the client is successfully referred. This practice is on-going.
Note: To see the underlying data for this chart, please select the "View Source Data" link to the left.
Additional Measure Insights
Referrals to Community Based Providers
Preventive health screenings are provided through mobile
units through the Health Equity Quality of Life Program and through the Neighborhood Services Unit. The Quality of Life Program
includes public health nurses as well as a community health workers to
facilitate equitable access to health and wellness services. The Mobile Van visits different community locations to offer free health screenings to help residents learn their risk for chronic diseases. Services include screenings for blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol; testing for pregnancy; resource referrals; and health insurance information. The unit sets up at schools, churches, housing complexes and other community centers. The Neighborhood Services Unit Nurses provide
preventive health screenings at the City of Austin Neighborhood Centers. This
program includes public health nurses as well as community health workers that
facilitate equitable access to health and wellness
services. Services include free screenings for blood sugar, blood
pressure, and cholesterol; testing for pregnancy, resource referrals, and
health insurance information.
For more information regarding community based preventative health screenings provided by the Health Equity Unit go to: http://www.austintexas.gov/department/health-equity-unit-0.
For more information to access public health nursing services go to: http://www.austintexas.gov/department/neighborhood-centers
Measure Details and Definition
1) Definition: 'Referral' is a resident that receives a screening from quality of life mobile outreach and public health nurses located at neighborhood centers and are in need of follow-up services or healthcare and are referred.
2) Calculation method: data is calculated for this measure by adding the total referrals from both programs and dividing the total number of total referrals by the target. Data is reported annually.
3) Data Collection Process: Austin Public Health provides preventative screening services through quality of life mobile outreach and public health nurses located at neighborhood centers. These screenings include fasting glucose tests, blood pressure monitoring, and other services. The residents that receive a screening and are in need of follow-up services or healthcare are referred. Please note that not all tested clients receive a referral. This metric demonstrates that a majority of the residents referred by Austin Public Health are able to follow through and connect to a healthcare provider or other community resources.
4) Measure Target Calculation: The total number of clients who receive a preventative screening services through quality of life mobile outreach and public health nurses located at neighborhood centers varies by the number of attendees to each testing event. The measure target of 85% represents the the number of referrals who follow through on the referral received at community event.
5) Frequency Measure is Reported: Annually (Fiscal Year)
Date page was last updated: April 2023