141st APHA Annual Meeting

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289656
Breaking new ground: Supporting the inclusion of health and equity into regional planning processes

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 9:30 AM - 9:50 AM

Shireen Malekafzali, MPH , Center for Health and Place, PolicyLink, Oakland, CA
Stephanie Welch, MS-MPH, RD, LDN , Knox County Health Department, Knoxville, TN
Ngozi T. Oleru, PhD , Environmental Public Health Division, Public Health - Seattle & King County, Seattle, WA
Alex Karner, PhD , Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
With an understanding of the social determinants of health, practitioners are continuing to innovate and expand into new policy and planning arenas typically not in the realm of public health. Local built environment and transportation policies and plans have been of particular focus for health professionals. The regional geography is an important scale to expand into given how regional the economy has become. Regional transportation, housing, and more recently, sustainability, planning enables the allocation of resources across the region, identifies development patterns and makes critical decisions that dictate how our communities grow and change for years to come.

In the last several years a handful of health advocates and practitioners have been working with their Metropolitan Planning Organizations (the regional planning entities) to infuse health into regional planning processes with the recognition that where you live has enormous implications for individual and community health. These multi-field partnerships are at various levels of development but have all experienced aspects of success and many lessons learned. It's important for health practitioners to work at this scale in order to ensure healthy, communities of opportunities.

This presentation will describe the connections between health, health equity and regional planning, as well as identify specific federal programs and local opportunities that support the inclusion of health and equity at the regional level. This presentation will lay the foundation for, and facilitate, a panel including three regional examples from across the nation where health practitioners have successfully incorporated health into regional planning processes.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Environmental health sciences
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe the importance of engaging in regional planning processes to support health outcomes. Describe the connections between regional planning, health and health equity. Identify a minimum of two opportunities to maximize health outcomes in regional planning.

Keywords: Health, Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Shireen Malekafzali, associate director at PolicyLink works to advance land use, transportation, infrastructure and economic development policies that promote healthy, equitable communities. She works with community organizers, funders, advocates, public officials and institutional leaders, advocating for policies, providing technical assistance, conducting research, and managing grantmaking initiatives. Shireen leads a national initiative that provides matching dollars to support innovative grantmaking in the arenas of built environment and food access policies that promote equity and health.
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.