The SEOW

The State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW) is a collaborative group of State agency representatives and key stakeholders committed to the identification, sharing and use of data to improve substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion, and behavioral health in general. The goals of the SEOW are:

  • Increase access to data that may inform inter-agency planning and collaboration
  • Increase cross-agency understanding of the strengths and limitations of available datasets
  • Share state agency areas of expertise and knowledge to access, interpret and use data
  • Maximize the use of data
  • Promote data-driven decision-making to improve planning, evaluation and more effective and efficient targeting of prevention resources
  • Explore and expand opportunities for collaboration around issues of common concern
  • Contribute to development of an interactive data repository

The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) re-convened the SEOW to support the efforts of the Partnership for Success 2015 (PFS 2015) initiative, but the goal is to develop a collaborative and cooperative inter-agency initiative that will have the capacity to support multiple initiatives within and across agencies. The SEOW’s mission will be to strengthen the data infrastructure and capacity of state agencies to implement data-driven strategic planning initiatives. All five steps of the SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) planning process; 1) assessment of needs, resources and readiness; 2) community mobilization and capacity building; 3) strategic planning; 4) implementation of evidence-based practices, programs and policies; and 5) monitoring and evaluation – into the statewide workgroup function and activities.

The SEOW is positioned interface with the Alcohol and Drug Policy Council (ADPC) and the PFS 2015 Advisory Committee (ADPC Prevention Subcommittee). The SEOW is staffed by the DMHAS-funded Center for Prevention Evaluation and Statistics (CPES) and chaired by Dr. Jane Ungemack of the University of Connecticut Health Center (UConn Health).

The role of the SEOW is to systematically review and analyze data related to behavioral health problems and make recommendations regarding state priorities for substance use prevention and mental health promotion and particular target groups for State prevention efforts. The SEOW is tasked with providing: 1) an assessment of the magnitude of the substance use and mental health problems; 2) an assessment of risk and protective factors associated with patterns of substance use and mental health problems; 3) an assessment of existing community assets and resources available to address these problems; 4) identification of any gaps or duplication in services; 5) an assessment of readiness to implement effective prevention EBPPPs at the state and community levels; 6) identification of high risk/high need communities or populations; and 7) specification of baseline data against which progress and outcomes of prevention and health promotion efforts could be measured.

SEOW Assessment of Subpopulations

One of the key responsibilities of the SEOW is to review available data on subgroup differences in substance use/mental health problems to assess and address health disparities in Connecticut. Previous experience shows that many datasets do not provide sufficient information on subgroups of the population, often those that are especially vulnerable to health disparities. With respect to investigation of health inequities, ethnic and racial group analyses for Connecticut are likely to be limited to Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic subgroups due to the small population sizes of other groups in the state. However, special studies and reports relevant to smaller population groups, such as Native Americans and Asians, will be sought to supplement the survey data.

SEOW tasks table
SEOW Member Organizations:

AIDS CT
Board of Pardons and Parole
Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI)
Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA)
Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center
Connecticut Youth Services Organization
Court Support Services Division, Judicial Branch (CSSD)
Department of Children and Families (DCF)
Department of Consumer Protection (DCP)
Department of Corrections (DOC)
Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS)
Department of Public Health (DPH)
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Office of the Child Advocate
Office of Early Childhood
Office of Policy and Management (OPM)
Southeastern Regional Action Council (SERAC)
UConn Health
Yale School of Medicine

 

SEOW 2019 Meeting Schedule

 

Meeting Minutes:

 

SEOW Prioritization Results, December 2017