136 - Tapping into the Power of Communicating Data Effectively for Meaningful Action: Lessons Learned from the CDC’s Overdose Data to Action Program

Abstract Information: Evaluators often face pressing demands for timely, accurate, and usable data. This need can be magnified when assessing critical public health problems like the drug overdose epidemic, where evaluators address a multitude of partner interests and continuous need for data to update decision-makers and inform improvement of interventions—all under urgent timelines. Stigma as well as social and political context are also present in the environment in which evaluation findings are presented. Translating evaluation findings for action benefits from a skilled evaluator, who can facilitate conversations with partners and convey key findings in a compelling manner to inform meaningful action. This includes presenting data in a way that is focused, contextualized, user-friendly, and actionable. This roundtable will discuss lessons learned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) Program, including specific examples of different types of data sources, dissemination techniques, and intended uses of data by OD2A recipients. The session will also engage participants in a dialogue to understand what techniques and tools others in the field are using to translate findings for timely action in a way that fosters storytelling and empowers evaluators.

Relevance Statement: Drug overdose deaths continue to increase in the United States. There were over 1 million drug overdose deaths in the United States between 1999 and 2021, 1 and provisional data2 estimate that more than 107,000 people died from drug overdoses during the 12-month period ending August 2022. Various interventions at the state, community, and systems levels are being implemented and evaluated to understand their impacts on drug overdose deaths, on prescribing behavior and illicit drug use, on access to community supports (e.g., harm reduction services) and necessary training and treatment, and awareness and preparedness to act. Evaluators working on important issues face a variety of challenges throughout the evaluation lifecycle surrounding data use. First, they must work with a multitude of partners, who may have divergent data requirements for decision making (e.g., public health vs. law enforcement). Then, evaluators collect and analyze data from disparate sources (e.g., public health surveillance systems, program-specific measures, and primary data collection), sometimes in the context of challenges of data availability. Evaluators then are tasked with analyzing data and identifying the area for improvement, potential impact program impacts, and use these findings to tell a compelling story. This requires the evaluator to present data in a tailored, timely, and digestible manner to meet an array of decision makers’ needs. This includes framing data-driven messages that accurately reflect the situation, including systemic drivers of the overdose epidemic and ways in which specific populations are impacted. In recent years the evaluation field has evolved to encompass new tools and techniques that evaluators can use to help partners better use evaluation findings. Data dissemination can lead to the development of dashboards, policies or guidance, tools and training resources, and prevention and response efforts. Tools and techniques like coaching, sensemaking, data parties, and approaches like participatory evaluation, empowerment evaluation and developmental evaluation all help evaluators engage more effectively with partners to translate evaluation data for understanding and use. Some of these techniques help evaluators overcome common pitfalls of misinterpretation and use, while others aim to address the need for more timely data. This session will discuss lessons learned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) Program by highlighting examples of how data have been used to inform meaningful action. The session will also provide an opportunity for evaluators to discuss how they have navigated high pressure environments and expectations to produce actionable data throughout the lifecycle of their evaluations, including any tools and techniques others in the field are using to translate findings for timely action in a way that fosters storytelling and empowers evaluators. References 1 Wide-ranging online data for epidemiologic research (WONDER). Atlanta, GA: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; Accessed 2/28/2023. Available at http://wonder.cdc.gov. 2 Ahmad F. B., Cisewski J. A., Rossen L. M., Sutton P. (2023) Provisional drug overdose death counts. National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm.