“Childhood Obesity: Assessing Information Needs of Key Stakeholders”
Problem
§ Childhood obesity is a complex problem being addressed in multiple ways by multiple stakeholder groups and individuals.
§ Yet, little has been known about what information is needed to allow key stakeholders to do their work effectively.
§ Increased knowledge about key stakeholders and their information needs could be used to develop information systems to support their work and effectively address the obesity epidemic.
Approach
§ Experion Healthcare Group was retained to identify key stakeholders in the area of childhood obesity and assess their information needs. Working closely with our client, Experion
o Developed a research protocol, question guide for conducting a series of telephone interviews, analysis plan, and approach for disseminating the findings from the project;
o Conducted more then thirty in-depth, telephone interviews with leaders and executives representing a wide variety of stakeholder groups, including families, educators, state and federal government, industry and the media;
o Analyzed the qualitative data from the telephone interviews; and
o Summarized the findings in a comprehensive report.
Impact
§ The final report from this project has been broadly disseminated by our client and the national healthcare foundation that provided the funding for the project.
§ The report from this project has been instrumental in developing a shared understanding of the information needs of the diverse group of stakeholders who are working to address the important issue of childhood obesity.
§ The successful completion of this project and the resultant report have helped our client to demonstrate their expertise in the area of childhood obesity and enhanced their capability to continue working in this important area.