Engaging St. Paul’s West Side Latino Community Around Asthma

Description of Project

The goal of this activity is to create a foundation and focus for future partnership between MDH’s Asthma Program and La Clinica. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Asthma Program will work with La Clinica to use the findings and recommendations to develop programming that responds directly to St. Paul’s Latino community. The engagement process will be as valuable as the ultimate plan, empowering the local population to direct the course of this work.

Through outreach and partnership feedback, the Asthma Program is concerned that there may be specific education and care delivery needs to close gaps in asthma education and management specific to the Latino population. Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2020 indicate that asthma prevalence among Minnesota’s Latino residents (12.4%) is lower than among white residents (13.9%); while data from the Minnesota Student Survey, 2022, indicate otherwise (Latino 15% and White 14%). The asthma rates from these surveys represent different segments of the population, all adults versus students in grades 5, 8, 9, and 11, respectively. Information from this project will help clarify the asthma burden in Minnesota’s Latino sub-populations. Do Latinos have less asthma, or are Latinos less likely to access care and be diagnosed for asthma? By answering these questions, this work will help guide future decisions about where to focus program efforts and resources.

This project seeks to answer the question: How can the MN Asthma Program be more culturally responsive to non-dominant communities? MDH will be building an enduring a relationship with St. Paul’s Latino community and will have an intervention designed to have the greatest impact for this population. MDH will leverage the community ties using alternatively funded projects to implement the plan.

This Quick Call seeks to engage a contractor with experience working with Latino communities to engage individuals with lived experience in the community, business owners, and members of organizations working to improve community conditions through services and activism. Using qualitative study methods, the contractor will answer the question in the paragraph above. The contractor will use the qualitative findings to come up with recommendations for an asthma program at La Clinica tailored to leverage strengths and local resources. The program starts as soon as a contractor is selected and a contract signed. Once begun, the contractor’s work should be completed within three months. In no event will work continue beyond May 30, 2025.

Sample Tasks

The contractor will propose study approaches. The study methods must balance rigor with economical methods for collecting and analyzing data. In collaboration with MDH, the assessment team will finalize the study methods before data collection begins. The contractor will submit the preliminary design, in response to the Quick Call for review by MDH. The proposal should include sections listed in the scoring table in Section E. MDH will use the scoring and assessment categories to select the contractor. MDH will be particularly interested in learning about the contractor’s skills and approach to topics in parentheses.

Examples of tasks to be included in the workplan are:

1. Kick-off meeting with MDH and La Clinica, to the extent that staffing allows.
2. Develop study design and data collection and management tools.
3. Identify and coordinate respondents for qualitative activities described in study design.
4. Data analysis and report writing.
5. Validation workshop of preliminary data analysis.
6. Delivery of draft and final reports.
7. Presentation of final report to MDH and La Clinica.

Responders may propose additional tasks or activities if they will improve the results of the project. These items should be separated from the required items on the Cost Proposal.

Minimum Qual ifications Required

Spanish speaking ethnographer(s).
Ability to travel and work in St. Paul’s Latinos communities.

Desired Skills

Experience conducting community-based qualitative studies with Latino communities.

Highly organized with an eye for detail.

Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communications skills.

Response Evaluation

Responses will first be reviewed to confirm compliance with the Minimum Qualifications Required identified above. Responses that meet all the minimum qualifications will be further evaluated in accordance with the following:

CONTRACTOR PROPOSAL FACTORS

MDH SCORING

1. Contractor past performance . Description of contractor skills on similar projects. (mixed methods experience, in the Spanish language, on public health topics in Minnesota)-20
   
2. Methods . Approaches proposed to meet project objectives. (sampling design, data collection approaches, data analysis, working with MDH and La Clinica, to the extent that they are available)-10
   
3. Project team . Description of proposed personnel and roles (leadership, cultural competencies, data collection)-30
   
4. Workplan . Timeline of proposed activities. -10
   
5. Budget . Costs of major line items with brief description. -30
   
6. Attachment A . Example of similar study report.

Scored with section 1.

1. Attachment B . Resumes of proposed personnel.

Scored with section 3.

The State reserves the right, based on the scores of the proposals, to create a short-listing of responders who have received the highest scores to interview or conduct demonstrations/presentations. The State reserves the right to seek best and final offers from one or more responders.