Raising the Bar for Health Improvement, One Community and School at a Time

In 2009, the United Health Foundation ranked Oklahoma 49th in the nation for overall health. This prompted the 2010 legislature to pass House Bill 2774, which authorizes two advisory committees to develop a Certified Healthy Communities and Certified Healthy Schools program. The aim of this law is to create an awareness of health among all citizens where they live and learn, ultimately improving Oklahoma's health status. Currently, the law is in the preliminary stages of implementation. A literature review of other state models and thirteen key informant interviews were conducted to understand what constitutes a healthy community and school. These models, other possible criteria, and informant feedback was shared with the two committees. An initial timeline was created and approved by each committee to more closely mirror the Certified Healthy Business Program. The complexity of translating health policy into health practice was the greatest lesson learned. The results include promotional materials (i.e. news release, presentation, posters, and web page), the online scoring application, and recommendations for evaluation methods for each program. It is anticipated that communities and schools throughout Oklahoma will be interested in improving health and applying for these programs. To assure both programs are adopted throughout the state, the Diffusion of Innovation theory should be applied throughout implementation. In the future, each advisory committee will further refine the criteria and new promotional materials will be developed. As the health indicators in Oklahoma rise, so will the bar for what merits a certified healthy community or certified healthy school.