Research and Program Evaluation

“The complex research design and the implementation of our study were executed flawlessly by JBS, and NIDA enjoyed an extremely productive 3-year working relationship with JBS.” —NIDA Project Officer

Intellectual curiosity. Doctoral-level training. National and international experience. JBS researchers use these qualities to conduct research for clients around the world.

For nearly 25 years, JBS has designed and managed research studies and program evaluations for government, business, and nonprofit clients. We obtain meaningful data with methodologically robust studies that withstand critical review, and we achieve this under rigorous deadlines, budget limits, and contracting standards. Our in-house team of senior researchers are highly regarded and have earned solid reputations for their skills in conducting studies that include ethnically, economically, and socially diverse populations.

Our research and evaluation work includes:

• Needs assessment
• Study design
• Sample design and sampling
• Instrument development, including establishment of instrument psychometric properties
• Data collection using a wide range of methods, including onsite, Web based, electronic, mail, telephone, focus groups, and interviews
• Data analysis, including secondary data analyses
• Statistical modeling
• Reporting

Samples of our research projects include the following:

• An evaluation for the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC). JBS developed a theory-based evaluation to assess the effectiveness of capacity building components of three NMAC programs––Technical Assistance Division, Prison Initiative Project, and the Supporting Networks of HIV Care––which target community-based organizations that want to develop, expand, or maintain a HIV primary care program.
• A multi-method evaluation to assess attitudes toward and use of The Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, an evidence-based reference booklet that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) developed for primary care physicians and other primary care providers. The guide is designed to communicate the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to facilitate delivery of preventive services. JBS administered e-mail and Web-linked surveys to more than 1,600 users of the AHRQ products. JBS staff also conducted focus groups with primary care providers from diverse professional backgrounds and service delivery environments (e.g., small and large group practices, Federally Qualified Health Centers). Focus groups provided participants with forced exposure to products, guided by semi-structured exercises, to collect qualitative data on the use and perceived usefulness of AHRQ’s electronic Prevention Services Selector (ePSS) products.
• National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), the premier national source of data on migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. Because of its innovative research design, NAWS is the first survey to accurately profile the demographics of difficult-to-survey seasonal farmworkers and has re-interview rates ranging between 75 and 85 percent. Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, NAWS has numerous cooperative agreements with other federal agencies to collect data on this exceptionally hard-to-reach population.

JBS recently launched a theory-based, multi-method, 5-year cross-site evaluation to investigate the process, outcome, and impact of substance abuse treatment and HIV/AIDS services provided by 50 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grantees. These grantees focus on enhancing and expanding substance abuse treatment and/or outreach and pretreatment services in conjunction with HIV/AIDS services in African American, Hispanic/Latino, and other racial and ethnic communities. Some provide specific services for women, children, and families.

	What We Do & Why We Do It: Spotlight on NIDA JBS designed and conducted an Assessment of Public Health Information Publications Project for NIDA. JBS experts assessed the use and usefulness of 10 publications to help NIDA promote the use of science-based evidence to improve drug abuse and addiction prevention, treatment, and policy. Using multiple methods, JBS researchers collected data from more than 22,000 people (treatment providers, researchers, community coalition leaders, educators, public health officials, Native Americans, and the general public). Lisa Kretz, Ph.D., M.B.A., explains, “The fun part of this project was coming up with creative and methodologically sound ways to encourage participation by audiences that are traditionally thought of as ‘difficult to reach.’ This was also crucial to us, because these folks are often underrepresented in evaluation studies.” JBS is proud to conduct state-of-the-art research that is culturally relevant and appropriate. Lisa says, “We move beyond mere translation by adapting methods that invite participation in a way that respects cultural traditions.” Results from this research clarified how awareness and use of NIDA products varied among different groups and provided valuable data that help shape products to make them more accessible, useful, and appropriate. “Working with JBS was one of the most productive professional partnerships that I have experienced. [The JBS] team designed a comprehensive evaluation project that exceeded NIDA’s expectations and allowed us to assess all of the publications and Web sites of interest. [The members of the] team were a pleasure to work with, and they conducted a complex evaluation with a high degree of quality, service, and dedication.” —Project Officer, Office of Science Policy and Communications, NIDA, NIH