How Do the Minnesota Wheel and the Omaha System Relate to Each Other?
By Judy Riemer, MS, RN, PHN, CNS
Many community health agencies ask if the Minnesota Wheel of Public Health Interventions
(commonly referred to as the Minnesota Wheel or simply The Wheel) and the Omaha System
can be used together in a record or if they represent two different approaches to documenting
public health care. The two systems are by no means exclusive of one another--in fact, some of
the Wheel originators are strong Omaha System proponents as well.
It is important to realize that The Wheel is NOT a documentation system in and of itself.
It consists of a population-based set of interventions, but lacks a formal system of
assessment and outcomes measurements. Therefore, it cannot be used alone to fully
document care.
However, using the MN Wheel within the framework of the Omaha System can allow an
agency to describe and generate valuable outcome data, especially through the development
of specialized KBS (Omaha System outcome measures) grids.
How are MN Wheel interventions and Omaha System interventions related?
1. Like the Omaha System, Wheel interventions can be applied at different levels (Wheel:
individual/family, community, system) (Omaha System: individual, family,
community).
2. Some Wheel interventions can be applied only at the community and system level (such
as coalition building), whereas Omaha System interventions can be applied at all
levels.
3. When we look at each intervention in the MN Wheel's intervention list, it's easy to find
compatible Omaha System intervention terms that allow a more robust standardized
description of a PH activity, such as:
Example: referral to resource due to substance abuse
MN Wheel - Referral & Follow-up
Omaha System - Substance use/ Case management/substance use cessation
All MN Wheel intervention activities can be documented using Omaha System intervention
terminology OR if an agency wants to retain the original MN Wheel terminology within an
Omaha System-based framework (such as found in Nightingale Notes), it can do so by adding
them as Custom Activity fields OR as Client Specific Information under the appropriate Omaha
System Intervention Category and Target. Bottom line? The Omaha System taxonomy already
includes the same concepts found in the MN Wheel PLUS provides the user with standardized
terminology to accurately describe assessment activities and outcome measures.
More information about the Omaha System and how it is used in practice, education, and
research can be found at www.omahasystem.org and www.omahasystemmn.org.