Abstract
The Coalition for a Healthier Community (CHC) initiative was implemented to improve the health and well-being of women and girls. Underpinning CHC is a gender-based focus that uses a network of community partners working collaboratively to generate relevant behavior change and improved health outcomes. Ten programs are trying to determine whether gender-focused system approaches are cost-effective ways to address health disparities in women and girls. Programs implemented through coalitions made up of academic institutions, public health departments, community-based organizations, and local, regional, and national organizations, are addressing health issues such as domestic violence, cardiovascular disease prevention, physical activity, and healthy eating. Although these programs are ongoing, they have made significant progress. Key factors contributing to their early success include a comprehensive needs assessment, robust coalitions, the diversity of populations targeted, programs based on findings of the needs assessments, evaluations taking into consideration the effect of gender, and strong academic-community partnerships. A noteworthy impact of these programs has been their ability to shape and impact public, social, and health policies at the state and local levels. However, there have been challenges associated with the implementation of such a complex program. Lessons learned are discussed in this paper.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 85-88 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Evaluation and Program Planning |
Volume | 51 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This program was funded by the US DHHS Office on Women's Health (grant # CCEWH 101009-01-00 ). The views expressed within are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords
- Academic-community partnerships
- CHC
- Coalition building
- Community needs assessment
- Evaluation
- Gender focus