129: Building Sustainable Local-Level Capacity for Qualitative Data Analysis

Imagine transforming raw interview data into actionable insights that drive community health initiatives in a matter of minutes and hours, rather than weeks or months. This presentation showcases the collaboration between Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service and Hamilton County Public Health (HCPH) to build sustainable local-level capacity for qualitative data analysis. Funded by a COSSUP grant, the initiative enhances HCPH's ability to analyze qualitative data from interviews with the next of kin (NOK) of overdose decedents using an AI-powered semantic search tool in Atlas.ti. The presentation will showcase developed protocols to conduct aggregate analysis of NOK interviews, demonstrate querying datasets for actionable insights, and cover capacity-building efforts to empower HCPH staff for ongoing, self-sufficient evaluations. This collaborative effort not only boosts HCPH's analytical capabilities but also serves as a model for other organizations aiming to build local-level capacity for qualitative data analysis.

Cale Burke, MPA; Emma Cepek