The Utah Health Policy Tracking System (HPTS) Increases Capacity for Policy Systems and Environmental (PSE) Change Interventions in Utah

Authors:

Kendra Babitz (Presenter)
Utah Comprehensive Cancer Control Program

Brad Belnap, Utah Comprehensive Cancer Control Program

Public Health Statement: Tracking health-related Utah policies using a centralized, web-based system allows CDC funded chronic disease programs (CDP) and partners to understand the policy landscape and better coordinate PSE interventions.

Purpose: To establish a system that houses all health-related policies in Utah, from state legislation to local business policies, with enhanced features and user interface for framing data for decision makers. This system enables partners to conducting policy scans, identifying geographic areas with policy gaps, highlighting model policies for replication in other areas of the state, and providing for longitudinal policy tracking research, charting, graphing and mapping capabilities to visualize data.

Methods/Approach: Currently, CDP programs are testing out the new features for enhanced use of policy data. After feedback is received, final edits will be made to the system to meet each program’s unique policy needs, and the new features will be rolled out for partner use in July 2017. CDP programs will incorporate utilization of the HPTS into all partner contracts for PSE projects beginning July 2017.

Results: Final evaluation of the database will be conducted in July 2017, but preliminary results show an increased excitement for coordination and commitment by CDP programs to use HPTS data in new ways.

Conclusions/Implications: The HPTS has enhanced program capacity to analyze and track policy data. Long-term evaluation of the new features will occur in 2018 and 2019 to determine if the features led to increased PSE interventions.