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12 SCHOOLS AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS OF
PUBLIC HEALTH SELECTED FOR ENGAGED INSTITUTIONS INITIATIVE
FOCUSED ON ELIMINATING HEALTH DISPARITIES
Despite major advances in
health care and health status in the 21st century, disparities
persist between whites and people of color – creating one of the most
pressing social justice issues facing America today. Not only are most racial and ethnic
groups less healthy, but they also tend to have shorter life expectancies,
higher rates of infant mortality and chronic diseases, worse outcomes once
diagnosed with illnesses, and less access to health care than their white
counterparts. Racial and ethnic health disparities persist even when
socio-economic status and insurance coverage are taken into account, due to
a complex combination of factors.
Eliminating these disparities will require collaborative solutions
that bring communities and institutions together as partners and build upon
the assets, strengths, and capacities of each. Schools and graduate programs of public health – with their
roles in educating public health professionals, conducting public health
research and applying knowledge to solve public health problems – have a
unique and important role to play. Community-Campus Partnerships for
Health is pleased to announce today that 12 schools and graduate
programs of public health are taking on the challenge of becoming engaged
institutions focused on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities as
participants in the Engaged Institutions Initiative funded by the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation.
One year ago, a seminar
sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to celebrate its 75th anniversary
called upon schools and graduate programs of public health to spearhead
efforts to transform all colleges and universities into engaged
institutions that are working to eliminate racial and ethnic health
disparities. The Foundation defines
engaged institutions as
“institutions that invest in lasting
relationships with communities…these relationships influence, shape, and
promote the success of both the institution and the community.” In supporting the Engaged Institutions Initiative, the Foundation seeks to
catalyze sustained efforts by schools and graduate programs of public
health to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in partnership
with communities.
Community-Campus Partnerships for Health will work collaboratively and intensively with teams from 12
schools and graduate programs of public health as they develop and
implement strategic action plans to become fully engaged institutions
focused on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities. Team members include academic
administrators, faculty, staff, students and community partners who have
made a commitment to collective action.
Selected from among 26 applicants, they provided evidence of
commitment and participation from institutional and community leaders, made
a clear and compelling case for their readiness to invest in authentic
community-campus partnerships, and demonstrated the ability to engage other
parts of their campuses in the effort.
Consultation will be provided by members of the CCPH Consultancy Network,
the organization’s training and technical assistance arm. The initiative will also sponsor
teleconferences, identify promising practices and produce resource
materials.
For more information, please contact CCPH Executive Director Sarena Seifer at sarena@u.washington.edu or 206-616-4305. Initiative announcements and updates
will be posted on the CCPH website at www.ccph.info
To receive e-mail announcements and updates on the
initiative – along with other resources
to support engaged institutions that are focused on eliminating racial and
ethnic health disparities – subscribe to the free Kellogg 75th Anniversary
listserv at https://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/kellogg75
Participating Schools and Graduate Programs of Public
Health:
In alphabetical order by
state:
§ Mel and
Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
§ Fay W.
Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences, Little Rock, AR
§ Master of
Public Health Program in Community Health Education, San Jose State
University, San Jose, CA
§ University
of South Florida College of Public Health, Tampa, FL
§ Master of
Public Health Program, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of
Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
§ Morgan
State University School of Public Health and Policy, Baltimore, MD
§ Boston
University School of Public Health, Boston, MA
§ Master of
Public Health Program, University of Nebraska Medical Center and University
of Nebraska at Omaha, NE
§ University
of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
§ Oregon
Master of Public Health Program, a consortium among Portland State
University in Portland, Oregon Health and Science University in Portland
and Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR
§ Arnold
School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
§ Master of
Public Health Program and Center on Health Disparities, School of Medicine,
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Articles
and Documents Needed for a Systematic Review
of
the Effectiveness of Community-Based Primary Health Care
in
Improving Child Health
The Working Group on Community-Based Primary Health Care (CBPHC) of the
International Health Section of the American Public Health Association is
now beginning a systematic review of the evidence supporting the
effectiveness of community-based primary health care in improving the
health of children in developing countries. The Department of Child and
Adolescent Health and Development of the World Health Organization is supporting
this effort.
They are looking for published articles as well as unpublished articles and
project documents which have formally assessed the effectiveness of CBPHC
in improving child health. Their main emphasis is on documentation of
changes in mortality rates or changes in serious morbidity, but we will
also include changes in key determinants of child health, such as
nutrition, immunization coverage, and access to or correct administration
of critical medical therapies (such as antibiotic treatment of pneumonia or
malaria).
Documentation that evaluates the positive contribution that community participation
does or does not have in improving child health is also especially sought.
Evaluations containing qualitative data are sought as much as quantitative
data in relationship to all areas of child health. We are looking for
negative evidence as well -- articles and documents describing
community-based programs and interventions which did not document and
improvement in child health.
An Expert Review Panel is now being assembled by Dr. Carl Taylor, Professor
Emeritus at The Johns Hopkins University. This Panel will review the
findings of the review and their implications. Dr. Henry Perry of Future
Generations and Dr. Paul Freeman, independent international public health
consultant, are the Co-Chairs of the Task Force carrying out the review.
If you know of any articles or documents that are not widely known or not
easily available which might contribute to our review, please contact Paul
Freeman at freeman.p.a@worldnet.att.net or Henry Perry at henry@future.org.
They are planning to widely disseminate the findings of the review, and hope
that this project will help to create a greater appreciation of the
importance of community-based approaches in improving the health of children
living in impoverished populations as well as the limitations of the
approach.
Corporation
for National and Community Service Releases Strategic Plan 2006-2010
This plan is the result of a year-long
collaborative effort between the Corporation and its network of grantees,
project sponsors, staff, and participants. Community-Campus
Partnerships for Health is a member of this network,
as a past grantee and in our current role as senior program advisor for
higher education for the Nation Service-Learning Clearinghouse.
Now that the plan is complete, the real work begins. This plan sets
ambitious goals for the Corporation for the next five years, including specific
performance targets. The plan also lays out a national vision for
volunteer service. The Corporation believes that a better future for all
Americans will include a more widespread culture of service, more
opportunities for all young people to succeed, more schools that encourage
citizenship, and more older Americans using their lifetime of skills to
give back to their communities.
The plan embraces bold national goals in four specific focus areas:
mobilizing more volunteers, ensuring a brighter future for all of America's
youth, engaging students in communities, and harnessing baby boomers'
experience. This vision includes specific targets for the country to
reach by 2010, such as 75 million Americans volunteering, 3 million more
at-risk youth with mentors, 3 million at-risk youth serving others in their
communities, service-learning in half of all K-12 schools, and 3 million
more baby boomers engaged in service.
The final version of the
Corporation's Strategic Plan for 2006 to 2010 is now posted at http://www.nationalservice.gov.
Project Reach
Announces Grant Awards
Eight American Association of
Community Colleges' (AACC) member colleges received grant awards for
Project Reach: Service Inclusion for Community College Students, a
three-year national initiative of AACC through a grant from the Corporation
for National and Community Service and its Engaging Persons with
Disabilities, New Special Initiatives Program. The institutions are: Brevard
Community College (Fla.), Edmonds Community College (Wash.), El Camino
Community College (Calif.), Henderson Community College (Ky.), Miami Dade
College (Fla.), Minneapolis Community & Technical College (Minn.),
National Park Community College (Ark.), and Prairie State College (Ill.).
These colleges will develop opportunities for students with disabilities to
participate in service learning and learn life skills that will have an
impact on their employment, careers and personal development. The eight
Project Reach colleges will be assisted by experienced mentors from Gadsden
State Community College (Ala.), Glendale Community College (Calif.),
Meridian Community College (Miss.) and Paradise Valley Community College
(Ariz.).
For more information, see http://www.aacc.nche.edu/projectreach or contact CCPH member
Quintin S. Doromal, Jr., Manager, Health and Wellness of Academic,
Student and Community Development at AACC, by phone (202) 728.0200 x267 or
email: qdoromal@aacc.nche.edu
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