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Emerging Practices

Although all community efforts are unique in their own way, we can learn much from efforts that are beginning to show promise of success. By sharing these ideas and examples, we hope that other communities can gain a head start and tailor these examples to meet the specific needs of their effort. Emerging practices is a compilation of efforts at various stages in their process from around the country. Because many of these are long-term efforts the success has not yet been determined and these may or may not eventually become best practices. For the purpose of this section, we hope these examples highlight possible solutions and offer insight into the vast array of efforts being implemented around the country. Visit this section often...we will be adding new emerging practices on a regular basis!

Multi-stakeholder Coalitions

Coalitions are comprised of public, private and government players. They can be organized at a state or city level, or as larger national alliances working in multiple geographic locations, with a mission to target a specific public health risk factor (e.g. obesity).

  • The National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) and the Community Coalitions Health Institute (CCHI) developed a document, Community Health Planning Technical Action Guide, which offers a set of best practice recommendations for building community consensus to improve health outcomes.
  • The federal Health and Human Services along with the Agency for Health Care Improvement have facilitated the Chartered Value Exchanges where multi-stakeholder coalitions can become designated as Community Leaders for Value-Driven Health Care.

Business Led Efforts

Although there are numerous examples of businesses engaged in activities that extend beyond the workplace setting, there are fewer involved in larger scale population health approaches where information on the efforts are systematically documented and monitored with clear indicators and outcomes for success.

  • Kaiser Permanente is a leader in the field for engaging in a broad range of health activities and scientific studies.
  • Both Dow Chemical and Healthways in their Blue Zone Project have taken leadership roles in developing frameworks and templates for gathering short and long term outcome data that may serve as models for moving forward.
  • Healthways in their collaboration with Gallup have taken this one step further and have developed statistical models and an interactive software platform that predicts changes in population health (Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®).

Policy Focused Organizations

The IOM Roundtable on Population Health Improvement hosts workshops exploring the role and potential of the private sector in improving economic well-being and community health outcomes and urging stakeholders to apply a health lens. “Applying a health lens” refers to giving consideration for potential health effects in decisions made in many relevant domains, such as education and housing. Workshop topics have included the corporate role in sustainability, multi-sector efforts to develop human capital, and other multi-sector initiatives to revitalize communities through investments in education and jobs.

Community Driven Efforts

The NQF Community Action Guide offers insight and guidance for stakeholders working together to improve the health of a community. The Guide offers a wealth of resources on topics including initial needs assessment, measures, and evaluation. In addition, the Guide offers a framework that initiatives can follow as they move along in their process.

 

Open Flyout

If you represent a business, corporation, healthcare system or coalition engaged in community partnerships and well-being initiatives, consider sharing your story!

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