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Health Services Research: A Toolkit for Voluntary Health Agencies In 2005, the National Health Council and AcademyHealth conducted a one-day roundtable for voluntary health agencies (VHAs) that provided an overview of health services research (HSR) and its value as a tool for making policy and practice decisions aimed at improving health and health care. Specifically, HSR provides evidence aimed at improving the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of health care for all Americans, and plays a significant role in translating research findings to inform health policy and medical practice. The roundtable was designed to expand the knowledgebase of VHAs with respect to health services research and its value for the many populations VHAs serve. This toolkit continues that effort. Participants in the original roundtable discussion found that the session expanded their understanding of, and commitment to, the role of HSR in improving the lives of their members. Many requested access to the materials and case studies as a means to educate their leadership, colleagues and constituents. Based on these requests, the Council and AcademyHealth have compiled a tool kit for your use, including, promotional materials, agendas, presentations and discussion tools. It is our intent with this toolkit to provide Council members with a common language for communicating the value of HSR to constituents and establishing a framework for better integration of HSR into strategic work plans. Because we recognize that each VHA may have unique needs and variable levels of HSR understanding, the materials are provided as separate modules and templates from which each VHA can create a custom presentation and internal communications tool. The roundtable and toolkit are supported by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the leading federal agency for health services research. We look forward to hearing from you regarding your experience using the toolkit to host an HSR roundtable. Should you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact Marc Boutin, lead staff for the roundtable at the Council at mboutin@nhcouncil.org, or Kristin Rosengren, lead staff at AcademyHealth at kristin.rosengren@academyhealth.org. Regards,
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