Data-Driven Health Improvements Start with Listening
Author
Senior Fellow
August 2025
Combining data and community voice can drive actionable health care improvements for all individuals in California’s Medi-Cal system.
I am a self-professed data nerd—give me an afternoon and a good dataset, and I can run down all kinds of data “rabbit holes.” I started my career staring down large Medicare claims data files to evaluate the impact of federal policy on primary care access in rural areas. This kind of administrative data is great for answering questions like, “What are the characteristics of the population getting care? What are the clinical outcomes of that care? Does the care meet minimum quality of care requirements?”
But it falls short when you want to know why we observe the patterns we observe in the data or whether the observed differences are important (and for whom). To answer those questions, you need qualitative data to offer the context for quantitative data, which can take the form of focus groups, interviews, or stakeholder engagement such as listening sessions.
I’m working on two projects right now that take exactly this kind of mixed quantitative and qualitative methods approach.
The Sacramento County Health Authority (SCHA) is a public entity established to improve health care quality and access for the county’s Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program) members. NORC’s project with SCHA will involve conducting an environmental scan and analyzing data from the Medi-Cal program to better understand the major quality concerns and identify potential approaches to improving care.
To meet that goal, we’re going to conduct stakeholder interviews and Medi-Cal enrollee focus groups and engage the SCHA and its subcommittees in discussion. We hope that combining those approaches will help us better understand enrollees’ biggest concerns about getting care, so SCHA knows what issues to prioritize.
NORC’s project with CalOptima Health, a local initiative health plan in Orange County, California, that serves the majority of the county’s Medi-Cal enrollees, is meant to produce a population-based needs assessment and map of community assets such as health care providers, community-based organizations, and other resources. The project aims to identify the health needs, differences, and service gaps in CalOptima Health’s membership to inform strategic planning and resource allocation.
As part of our process, we are not only analyzing data on care utilization and care quality, but we are asking members about the issues that are of greatest concern to them, such as their barriers to getting care. We will conduct surveys, focus groups, and interviews, and engage a broad array of county stakeholders, including providers and leaders of county and community-based organizations, about the most critical issues to be addressed. Our hope is that combining those approaches will help us better understand the greatest member pain points and where to target resources to address them.
What excites me most about these projects is the opportunity to bring data to life by grounding it in the lived experiences of the people it represents and what matters to them. As someone who thrives on digging into datasets, I find it incredibly rewarding when I’m able to connect the dots between quantitative data and the voices of community members and stakeholders to make sense of it all.
It’s in that intersection—where numbers meet narratives—that we uncover the most actionable insights. These projects are not just about identifying problems or program weaknesses. They’re about understanding those problems and weaknesses collaboratively so we can determine where to prioritize limited resources to make improvements. Quantitative data show us where care is working—or not. But it’s the voices of the community that help us understand why, and what to do next.
“Quantitative data show us where care is working—or not. But it’s the voices of the community that help us understand why, and what to do next.”
Main Takeaways
- Quantitative data are essential for measuring access and quality but must be paired with qualitative insights to drive meaningful change.
- Community engagement is not optional; it’s foundational to understanding health care challenges and co-creating solutions.
- Disaggregated data help uncover differences across different sub-populations, while community voices help explain and address them.
Policy Implications
- Health systems and policymakers should invest in mixed-methods research that centers community input.
- Data collection and analysis must be representative, transparent, and responsive to the priorities of those most affected.
- Both metrics and narratives should inform strategic planning to ensure outcomes that capture all voices.
Suggested Citation
Shugarman, L.R. (2025, August 11). Data-Driven Health Improvements Start with Listening. [Web blog post]. NORC at the University of Chicago. Retrieved from www.norc.org.
