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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
James N Burdine, Dr PH, Community Health Development Program, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M University, 3000 Briarcrest Drive, Suite 310, Bryan, TX 77802, 979-845-2387, jnburdine@srph.tamu.edu, Ciro Sumaya, MD,, MPHTM, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M Univeristy Health Science Center, 3000 Briarcrest Drive, Suite 310, Bryan, TX 77802, and Kenneth R. McLeroy, PhD, School of Rural Public Health, 3000 Briarcrest Drive, Suite 310, Bryan, TX 77802.
The School of Rural Public Health is a key component of the Health Science Center of the Texas A&M University System. Created by the Texas Legislature in 1999 it has grown rapidly and was accepted into the Association of Schools of Public Health in 2001. As a core strategy of fulfilling its mission of “improving the health of communities, with emphasis on rural and underserved populations, through education, research, service, outreach and creative partnerships” the School of Rural Public Health has created a Community Health Development Program. The purpose of this program is to generate projects which create opportunities for research, teaching and service (e.g., technical assistance, field placements) that engage communities and the school in long-term collaborative relationships. The strategy is based on community health development principles and employs organizing community health “partnerships” composed of representatives from multiple constituencies in each community (health care, private sector, minority community, etc.) and engages them in a community health status assessment project as an organizing strategy. Projects have been organized in four areas of the state in the first year. Community health status assessments in these communities have lead to the development of specific health status improvement interventions including service delivery, financing, and policy changes. These projects have also resulted in the generation of both local and external funding for community projects. An evaluation of these projects examines changes in community capacity for health improvement that incorporates measures of community skills and social capital (using the Markers of Social Capital instrument).
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Collaboration, Public/Private Partnerships
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Handout (.pdf format, 114.6 kb)