Introduction to Ohio’s SEOW Project

SAMHSA’s SEOW Initiative

The purpose of the federal State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup initiative is to provide states and communities with data needed for planning, monitoring and evaluation purposes. ODADAS saw the opportunity to further the state’s priority of “Increasing the use of data within the AOD system to make informed decisions about planning and investment” by participating in this initiative.

The federal grant funds awarded to ODADAS through this initiative for three years are being used to support the work of a State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW) which is responsible for the collection, analysis, and reporting of substance use incidence, prevalence and related data and National Outcome Measures (NOMs). The NOMs are a set of domains and measures which SAMHSA will use to meet all its statutory and Congressional reporting requirements. Substance abuse NOMs are drawn from many types of data including: substance use incidence and prevalence, related consequence data, and program process and output data. The SEOWs are a critical component to enable States to report on NOMs and to address the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) that is being implemented by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). The SPF provides a data-driven planning framework to assist in developing comprehensive plans to prevent substance abuse and reduce problems associated with substance abuse.

Ohio’s SEOW Project

In Ohio, the SEOW was established around the Expert Prevention Panel, a previously-existing epidemiological workgroup, made up of experts from Ohio in the prevention research and evaluation field. The SEOW in conjunction with project staff from ODADAS and Wright State University has produced state and county-level epidemiological profiles that summarize alcohol and other drug consumption patterns and associated consequences. These profiles are described below.

State Epidemiological Profile – State profile data is available online in pdf report and searchable database formats. The report provides state summary data with accompanying analysis detailing the implications of the data on the alcohol and drug addiction service system in Ohio. The report includes: tables, graphs, data limitations, data parameters and definitions, data sources, contact information for data sources and how the indicator relates to substance abuse.
County Epidemiological Profile Reports - County profile data will be available online via a searchable database in summer of 2007. The database will be searchable by county and by indicator. The database will also include: tables, graphs, data limitations, data parameters and definitions, data sources, contact information for data sources and how the indicator relates to substance abuse.