Model Communities: A vital strategy to implementing policy and environmental changes and addressing health equity in Suburban Cook County, Illinois

Introduction:Suburban Cook County (SCC), Illinois is a large, geopolitically complex, region with changing demographics similar to the national trend which include increasing suburbanization of low-income and minority populations, often affected by chronic disease. As part of a comprehensive strategy to address health equity in this jurisdiction, the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) in collaboration with the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago (PHIMC) utilized federal funding to implement the Model Communities (MC) grant program which aimed to transform local communities and schools across SCC to make the “healthier choice, the easier choice.” Methods:Addressing health equity is an underlying premise of the MC strategy. Through targeted outreach, an application and selection process that supported high need areas, and dedicated financial and technical resources for local capacity building and collaboration, MC was structured to build local capacity to sustain efforts beyond CPPW. Results:Evaluation results from surveys and case studies have identified MC as a beneficial strategy in addressing health equity, through increased capacity of the PSE process by 92% of grantees and increased understanding and utilization of collaborative processes among 80% of grantees. At completion of the project period, we expect to make PSE change that impacts over 100 schools and 71 communities throughout SCC. Discussion: This program is likely to offer insights to other areas with similar complex, disparate communities and is a model that can be applied to other public health issues.