Using technology to communicate community change: A success story tool

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant (PHHSBG) program has created a new Web-based Success Stories Tool which uses a systematic approach to develop one-page success stories. The tool was developed out of a need to improve the quality of the success stories as well as to establish an electronic system for providing technical assistance on the stories. This Web-based tool is currently being used by 61 state health departments, territories, and tribes to document how PHHSBG funds are used to save lives and improve health. Borrowing from an existing on-line rating system, the tool allows peers and CDC staff to review and rate the strength of each success story against predefined criteria. Categories of a one-page success story include the issue, the intervention, and the impact. Each category is weighted differently and combined for an overall rating from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong). Health departments, health ministries, and tribes receiving less than 5 stars are given technical assistance and the opportunity to improve the story to ultimately receive a 5 star rating. Use of the tool has assisted the writer with keeping focused on the health issue and intervention impact. As a result, the PHHSBG program receives more quality written stories that are distributed widely to various audiences. Additionally, specific health departments, territories, and tribes have used their success stories to educate and impact social and environmental change in their state and local communities.