141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

289071
Connecting health providers, patients, and community resources through effective health programming in low-income communities: The canyon ranch institute life enhancement program

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 11:10 AM - 11:30 AM

Andrew Pleasant, PhD , Health Literacy and Research Director, Canyon Ranch Institute, Tucson, AZ
Jennifer Cabe, MA , Executive Director, Canyon Ranch Institute, Tucson, AZ
Paloma Hernandez, MS MPH , Urban Health Plan, Inc., Bronx, NY
Debbie Lester, LMSW , Institute for the Advancement of Community Health, Urban Health Plan, Inc., Bronx, NY
Samuel DeLeon, MD , Medical Affairs, Urban Health Plan, Inc., Bronx, NY
Amy Michael , Chief Operations Officer, Sullivan County Memorial Hospital, Milan, MO
Martha Gragg, RN MSN , Chief Executive Officer, Sullivan County Memorial Hospital, Milan, MO
Colleen Cross, MA , Department of Public Health and Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
Nancy Johnson, RN PhD , Chief Operations Officer, El Rio Community Health Center, Tucson, AZ
Julia Strange , Tucson Medical Center, Tucson, AZ
Mary Atkinson, RD , Tucson Medical Center, Tucson, AZ
Richard Carmona, MD MPH FACS , President, Board of Directors, Canyon Ranch Institute, Tucson, AZ
Chuck Palm, MPH , Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program, Canyon Ranch Institute, Tucson, AZ
An evidence-based program aimed at low-income, underserved adults, the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program (CRI LEP) demonstrates that integrating community health care organizations and community resources to help patients prevent chronic disease can have significant positive impacts on overall health and wellness of the patient participants, families, and community. The CRI LEP, a partnership between a local health care delivery organization, other community resources to serve patients, and Canyon Ranch Institute, is currently offered in New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Arizona, and is tailored to the cultural, linguistic, geographic, and health specifics of each community. Core teams of professionals in integrative health, nutrition, fitness, pharmacy, behavioral health, and spirituality provide 36 hours of community-based participatory and hands-on group sessions, fitness instruction, live cooking demonstrations, social support, a nutritionist-guided grocery store trip, and at least four one-hour one-on-one health consultations per participant. Evaluation from multiple cohorts indicates healthy changes in depression (NY-32%/MO-43%/AZ-45%), stress (NY-47%/MO-16%/AZ-19%), systolic blood pressure (NY-7%/MO-4%/AZ-20%); reductions in the number of mentally and physically unhealthy days in the previous month (NY-66%/MO-23%/AZ-35%), and other improvements in behavior and physical and mental health. On a civic engagement scale, participants report becoming more engaged with community organizations and in addressing community issues. CRI LEP partners have also witnessed increased neighborhood availability of fresh foods, as well as the development of a health literacy center, a farmers' market, abd a health literacy nutrition program in a local grocery store. Up-to-date data available from five ongoing program sites will be presented.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss a public health intervention that effectively integrates health care delivery organizations, patients, and other community resources. Demonstrate how an integrative public health intervention combined with the best practices of health literacy supports participants and providers in engaging in making positive health-related behavior changes at the individual and community levels.

Keywords: Community Health Programs, Health Literacy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have over 20 years of experience in community-based public health interventions and research, have a master's degree in public health, and am the program manager for the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program.
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.