One of the Public Health Foundation's (PHF) strategic goals is to create opportunities to achieve public health and healthcare system alignment to improve community health. Community health centers serve patients and populations that face numerous health challenges. Solutions to these challenges require interventions at both the clinical and population level. Community health centers must engage strategies that come from public health and collaborate with its public health partners to affect change. PHF partnered with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to co-sponsor a webinar entitled "The Community Guide for Community Health Centers." The 60-minute webinar was held on Monday, May 12, 2014.
Download The Community Guide for Community Health Centers Webinar Resources:
Partnerships between primary care and public health depend upon shared goals, evidence-based interventions, and effective communication. The Guide to Community Preventive Services, or "The Community Guide,” is a web-based resource that includes recommendations on evidence-based options to improve community health. The Community Guide provides information about evidence-based options for addressing specific public health issues that decision makers and stakeholders can consider when determining what best meets the specific needs, preferences, available resources, and constraints of their jurisdictions and constituents. The Community Guide website provides a series of success stories that describe practical use of the tool to combat the health problems of patient populations, as well as resources to help use The Community Guide to plan programs and affect policy change.
Other PHF activities helping to create opportunities for public health and healthcare collaboration include:
This webinar walked participants through The Community Guide with particular attention to the tools that are most applicable to the primary care setting. Participants also heard from the St. James-Santee Family Health Center, which has used The Community Guide to conduct a successful campaign for improved breast and cervical cancer screening rates.
Learning Objectives
During the webinar, participants learned the following:
- The Community Guide can be useful for:
- Adopting evidence-based strategies to improve the health of individuals and populations
- Promoting partnerships between practitioners and government, community, business, and voluntary organizations to plan and implement effective strategies in multiple health topics
- Combining information on what has worked with knowledge of a local community and healthcare system to design interventions that are tailored to local needs and realities
- The Community Guide complements the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations
- The Community Guide has been used by one health center to improve breast and cervical screening rates
- The Community Guide is useful as a shared evidence-base and shared toolkit for health centers working in partnership with local or state health departments and other public health initiatives
- Community health centers can contribute to the evidence-base included in The Community Guide
Who Should View the Webinar Archive?
Community health center staff including program managers; primary care associations; primary care practices; health departments; community organizations; hospitals; health centered controlled networks; and policy makers
Presenters
- Ron Bialek, President, Public Health Foundation
- Don Weaver, Associate Medical Director, Clinical Affairs, National Association of Community Health Centers
- Shawna L. Mercer, Director of The Guide to Community Preventive Services and Chief of The Community Guide Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Myra Pinckney, Case Manager and Outreach Coordinator, St. James-Santee Family Health Center, Inc.
About the Public Health Foundation (PHF)
The Public Health Foundation (PHF) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to achieving healthy communities through research, training, and technical assistance. For over 40 years, PHF has helped health agencies and other community health organizations effectively use information to manage and improve performance, understand and use data, and strengthen their workforce. PHF is working to promote awareness and use of The Community Guide through multi-media channels and encourage public health and healthcare professionals to implement evidence-based strategies to improve health outcomes. Learn more about PHF’s resources in Performance Management, Quality Improvement and Workforce Development.
About the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC)
The
National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) represents Community, Migrant, and Homeless Health Centers, as well as Public Housing Primary Care Programs and other community-based health centers. Founded in 1971, NACHC is a nonprofit organization providing advocacy, education, training and technical assistance to health centers in support of their mission to provide quality health care to underserved populations.
