The U.S. has considerable racial and ethnic health disparities in life expectancy, morbidity, risk factors, and quality of life. In an effort to address these disparities, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded its support to communities taking action in addressing health disparities through the Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Action Institute (REHDAI).

Abt Associates conducted a process evaluation for the REHDAI initiative to inform program modification and technical assistance. The evaluation was guided by the CDC Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health (2009) and sought to understand what REHDAI Teams were able to accomplish as a result of participating in the initiative and what factors facilitated or inhibited their progress. For this evaluation, Abt addressed the following evaluation questions:

• What constitutes a REHDAI Team?
• What was accomplished through the REHDAI initiative?
• What was learned regarding selection of, and expectations for, REHDAI Communities and other aspects of REHDAI and REACH US models?

The results will be used to clarify expectations for similar future efforts and help inform the REACH US Program model. Abt disseminated findings via a final report, briefings and the development of a manuscript outline.