As we collect data from our programs, many of us have questions that come up! And answers can be hard to find. Did you know that the NDPP Customer Service Center includes “discussions” around these common questions? These subjects range from collecting/submitting data to submission timelines. Here are a few of the discussions around some of these topics:
How long does it take to hear back from the CDC with a decision after I submit my data?
A CDC-recognized organization should receive their evaluation report within 10-15 business days after CDC accepts the final, clean, comma separated value (CSV) format data file.
Will CDC be conducting a full evaluation every six months or only at the end of the four consecutive six-month periods?
CDC-recognized organizations must continue to submit data every six months regardless of current recognition status. CDC will provide either a progress report or full evaluation at each six-month period, as appropriate. Recognized organizations that offer only one class per year must submit data every six months but will only be eligible for an evaluation at 12 months when the class has been completed.
Must organizations meet the requirements for preliminary or full recognition at each of the six-month evaluations during the two-year period, or only at the last one?
CDC-recognized organizations must continue to meet the requirements for preliminary recognition every 12 months until they are required to achieve full recognition at the 24-month mark. If fully recognized organizations do not continue to meet full recognition at 24 months but do meet the requirements for preliminary recognition, they can remain in full recognition status on a Corrective Action Plan for an additional 12 months. CDC-recognized organizations that do not re-achieve full recognition requirements at the 36-month mark will lose recognition and will need to wait six months before reapplying.
Will organizations be able to use data from a participant who attended all of the first 16 sessions but none from the second half of the program?
While the CDC will only evaluate data from eligible participants who attended at least 3 sessions in the first 6 months, and whose time from first session attended to last session of the lifestyle change program was at least 9 months, it is a requirement that records from all participants be included in the submission. Please review the 2018 DPRP Standards for further information on the National DPP lifestyle change program.
How often should organizations review their data?
CDC-recognized organizations should:
**Monitor and evaluate participant data on a continuous basis. Using data for program improvement allows for adjustments as needed and improved program outcomes.
**Review data to identify trends and individual participants who may be encountering challenges meeting the requirements. This step creates an opportunity to provide additional coaching and support for these individuals.
**Refer to Appendix E, Using Data for Evaluation, in the 2018 DPRP Standards as a guide to reviewing data.
How are data submitted for multiple cohorts?
If multiple cohorts begin within a specific six-month data collection period, then participants from all cohorts will be analyzed together. CDC does not analyze by class cohort. Instead, data are analyzed by submission cohort, which is all participants that begin within the six-month period.
Can organizations omit any data?
No, the data file CDC-recognized organizations submit for evaluation should include all records of collected data for all participants that attended at least one session. If a participant attended less than three sessions, these sessions should be included in the data file; however, data for that participant will not be counted towards the analysis.
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the State of Wellness, or submit questions to the NDPP CSC support team.