Evaluating the Stronger Hearts Helpline pilot in San Bernardino County, Calif.

Using these Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funds, the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention will partner with an external evaluator to develop and implement a multiphase evaluation of the Stronger Hearts Helpline (SHH) pilot in San Bernardino County, California. SHH is designed to alleviate and reduce disparities in the health and financial burdens of congestive heart failure (CHF). Data from the pilot suggest that SHH has improved access to timely and needed clinical services plus a broad range of supportive social services, such as housing/utilities, transportation, and nutrition/healthy living. The evaluation will build on these initial findings. It will evaluate SHH components (e.g., availability and quality of existing services and the role of incentives) and SHH outcomes (e.g., quality of life, number of CHF patient admissions and readmissions, costs associated with those admissions, and length of stay) and will map SHH's role in building a Culture of Health in San Bernardino County. Deliverables will be an evaluation report for RWJF and relevant stakeholders, and a peer-reviewed publication that will analyze the potential of the United Way 2-1-1 bilingual helpline call center, used by SHH, as a tool for improving health outcomes and health equity.