A Tailored Approach to a a Community-Driven Process to Improve Health

Where we live, work, learn, and play impacts our health.  Life expectancies differ across zip codes, with communities of color and low-income communities experiencing severe disparities.  Many of these communities are saddled with too few educational and economic opportunities, diminished air quality, blighted streets, and lack of access to healthful, affordable food and safe places to be active. The Tool for Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE) was created to answer the question: what can be done in communities to improve health and safety and reduce inequities? THRIVE was developed based on extensive research linking medical conditions to the community factors that can improve them (for example, living wages and local wealth; civic participation; and access to healthy, economically stimulating businesses such as grocery or corner stores selling healthy food—versus an overabundance of alcohol outlets and fast food restaurants).

The Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) provided a training on THRIVE to local residents and community leaders in the greater New Orleans area. The goal of using the THRIVE tool was to create a broader understanding of health among the community, and lay the framework for future community health endeavors in the respective communities. LPHI will present on the flexibility and versatility of THRIVE and lessons learned from presenting the tool to several different audiences including community members and professionals across multiple fields. In addition, LPHI will speak to the use of the THRIVE tool within the local context of work with the Healthy NOLA initiative.