227101 County Health Rankings: Experiences in Media Communication & Community Engagement

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 9:30 AM - 9:45 AM

Julie A. Willems Van Dijk, RN PhD , School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Madison, WI
Bridget Catlin, PhD , 517 WARF Building, Department of Population Health Sciences, Madison, WI
Brenda Henry, PhD, MPH , Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ
Patrick Remington, MD, MPH , School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
        
In February, 2010, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released County Health Rankings in all 50 states. The Rankings are based on a multiple determinants of health model where policies and programs drive health factors which ultimately influence health outcomes in communities. Rankings are calculated for both health outcomes (based on mortality and morbidity measures) and health factors (based on health behaviors, social and economic, clinical care, and physical environment measures). To prepare for the release of the Rankings, all 50 states were contacted with the subsequent formation of Rankings rollout teams in the majority of states. Release of the Rankings (scheduled for February 17th, 2010) will likely generate significant media coverage. The result of this coverage will be the opportunity for public health practitioners to lead highly engaged community health improvement discussions. This session will discuss the Rankings model and state and local communities' experiences with both the Rankings rollout and subsequent community engagement. A case study of a community that has used the Rankings as an impetus for addressing important health disparity and social justice issues will also be presented.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the County Health Rankings Model. 2. Discuss state and local communities’ experiences with media messaging when discussing the County Health Rankings. 3. Describe the range of community engagement efforts that resulted from the release of the Rankings. 4. Explore one case study of a community who used the Rankings to influence health disparities and social justice issues.

Keywords: Community Building, Media

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have over 20 years of local public health experience and have conducted public health research as a doctoral student. For the past year, I have engaged state and local public health officials and other community partners in the use of the County Health Rankings.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3021.1: Making Strides and Realizing the Benefits of Community Engagement