The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #57487

Patricia Lawless, MHA, NEPA Area Health Education Center, One College Green, Keystone College Campus, LaPlume, PA 18440, 570-945-5623, pat.lawless@keystone.edu, Peter C. Olden, PhD, Graduate Health Administration Program, University of Scranton, Jefferson Avenue, Scranton, PA 18510, Steven J. Szydlowski, MBA, MHA, Healthy Northeast Pennsylvania Initiative, c/o Allied Services, 100 Abington Executive Park, Clarks Summit, PA 18411, and Catherine Immanuel, MA, Membership Development, Community Campus Partnerships for Health, 3333 California Street, Suite 410, San Francisco, CA 94118.

Developing communication systems to ensure information dissemination and health education in rural communities is a key component to improving health status for rural populations. Information and health education can be fragmented and sporadic in rural settings. A regional community-academic network partnership to improve rural behavior, lifestyles, and determinants of health has been implemented in Northeastern Pennsylvania to bridge the gap between service, access to information, health education, and community involvement in health. Northeast Pennsylvania Community Campus Partnerships for Health Regional Network is funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service through the national Community Campus Partnerships for Health. This Regional Network enables the participating community and academic partners to create regional community health, enhance allied and health professional education and research development, and enhance community awareness for healthy behavior. A health care symposium, research sessions, and education sessions serve as vehicles for rural outreach. Community partners are critical to the leadership of the Network, and localized activities and programs are driven by partner input. The leadership team, project coordinator, and partners are key agents in identifying community needs, maintaining interorganizational relationships, and hosting community events, educational sessions, student service learning, and other related activities. Network partners and potential partners work on task forces and an advisory committee. Community support, increased CCPH membership and awareness, network development, and a motivated leadership team are used to accomplish the tasks of promoting health, research, and education in the rural, thirteen county region of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) will be able to:
• Describe a community-academic network partnership in a rural 13-county region.
• Explain the partnership's first-year planning and implementation of activities to improve behavior, lifestyles, and determinants of health of the rural population.
• Discuss 5 lessons learned from creating the partnership and then planning and implementing its programs.
• Extend the partnership model to facilitate community-academic partnering to improve behavior, lifestyles, and determinants of health in other rural communities.

Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Rural Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, NEPA CCPH Regional Network
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am an unpaid volunteer leader of the NEPA CCPH Regional Network, and I am a paid employee of the NEPA AHEC that is one of the three lead institutions for the NEPA CCPH Regional Network. The Corporation for National and Community Service, through the Co