Local health department and academic institution linkages for community health assessment and improvement processes: a national overview and local case study.

Community health improvement processes that yield community health assessments (CHAs) and community health improvement plans (CHIPs) provide data and a process to determine key community priorities and take action and are ideally collaborative endeavors. Nationally, increased focus on CHAs and CHIPs highlights the role that Academic Health Departments or other local health department (LHD)-academic linkages can play in completing CHAs and CHIPs. Drawn from the experiences of 5 LHD-academic partnerships that participated in a national demonstration and a detailed account of the experience of one, this article presents how such linkages can support CHA and CHIP work, ways to anticipate and overcome challenges, and the tangible benefits that may be realized for both the LHD and the academic partner.

Challenges and lessons learned in developing a community-based health survey.

Background: Collecting community-level data to inform health interventions and monitor health status is critical to improving community health and eliminating health disparities. Ideally, the process for designing and utilizing these data collection tools will include representation from community, service, and academic institutions. The process for incorporating these entities' diverse needs and perspectives, however, can be challenging.

Using GIS to facilitate community-based public health planning of diabetes intervention efforts.

Data from a community survey were analyzed geographically to help facilitate local diabetes prevention efforts. Data were available from the Speak to Your Health! Community Survey, designed and implemented by The Prevention Research Center of Michigan (PRC/MI), whose central mission is to strengthen community capacity to improve health. This survey was developed collaboratively by the university and community partners that comprise the PRC/MI and focuses on health and social issues at the heart of the community of Genesee County, Michigan.