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About IDPH

Third Evaluation Plan

Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO)

Asthma is a chronic condition that is best managed through a supportive and integrative framework that seeks to improve asthma control, quality of life (QoL), and health equity. Accordingly, the Illinois Department of Public Health's Asthma Program supports asthma home visiting (HV) programs and the development of the Community Health Worker (CHW) Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) training model, run by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU-SOM). These asthma HV programs seek to improve health outcomes and QoL through their services and through trained CHWs who provide various asthma control components, such as asthma self-management education (AS-ME) throughout a one-year program. The CHW ECHO training model is meant to not only provide asthma HV education to CHWs, but also to grow the asthma HV programs through referrals by these CHWs.

The Illinois Asthma Program Evaluation Team and stakeholders have constructed a plan to better understand the effectiveness of the CHW ECHO training program and monitor growth of the HV program.

What do we want to know?

  1. How was the ECHO model rolled out and implemented in Illinois?
    • How have the number of CHWs in the Home Visiting Collaborative (HVC)-led ECHO program changed over time?
    • Did ECHO participants' AS-ME knowledge improve as a result of the program?
    • Was there fidelity to the original ECHO model?
  2. Did the reach of the HVC increase and by what magnitude?
    • Did the number of clients increase over time?
    • Did the number of referral sources increase over time?
    • What proportion of HV client referrals under the age of 10 were male? Female? 
    • What proportion of HV client referrals between ages 10-19 were male? Female?
    • What proportion of HV client referrals were Black? Latinx?
    • What proportion of HV client referrals were on Medicaid?
    • How do these proportions compare to asthma prevalence data in the state?

How do we get there?

A minimum of two years of data from the following sources will inform the evaluation:

  • Referrals to asthma HV programs
  • ECHO participant pretest/posttest knowledge scores, fidelity scorecards, and attendance logs
  • Asthma prevalence by county and for the state as a whole

By showing a positive change over time in the above variables, the evaluation will demonstrate how well ECHO confers knowledge to CHWs, results in HV program expansion, and how faithful Illinois ECHO was to the original ECHO model.

End Goal

Evaluation findings may be used as evidence to support program improvements and expansion to achieve healthy communities, and to improve health equities and outcomes. Other end goals are:

  • Document evidence-based practices, particularly the delivery of AS-ME
  • Increase transparency, accountability, and applicability
  • Inform community stakeholders and organizations of available and effective services for asthma like the HV program and the CHW ECHO training