Our Community Roadmap to Health

	How We Got Here “Information for public health is still hard to find.” Focus group participant, Jefferson County resident Health Action is a process conducted by a team of committed organizations seeking community input to improve health in Jefferson County, Alabama. Health Action uses a national public health model, Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) to determine community themes and strengths, forces of change, community health status and to assess the local public health system. The long range goal of Health Action is to better serve the people of Jefferson County by working with organizations that take action, make an impact, and work to improve health and quality of life throughout the county.
Click here to view Our Community Road Map to Health
Visioning As Jefferson County embarked on the path of improving health and quality of life, we began with developing vision statements that answer the following questions: What are important characteristics of a healthy community for all who live, work, and play here? How do you envision the local public health system in the next five or ten years? Several key players in the public health system were involved in developing these vision statements. These statements set the course for the four MAPP assessments and furthered the need for partnership development. MAPP Assessments 1. Community Themes and Strengths  Appendix A This assessment documented the issues community members believed were having an impact on their health as well as community assets available to address health issues. The information was gathered through neighborhood asset mapping and 22 focus group sessions. This piece of the assessment demonstrates the value of community input. Throughout this document, you will see quotes from people who participated in these focus groups. 2. Local Public Health System Assessment  Appendix B This assessment compiles available data on risk factors, quality of life, and health conditions in the community. We gathered recent data relevant to over 200 indicators that demonstrate the health of our community. We continue to identify new sources of data as we engage additional partners. 3. Forces of Change  Appendix C This assessment projects trends, events, and factors around us that will impact the health of the community. Each force of change presents unique threats and opportunities for our community. Volunteer working groups, representing various aspects of our local public health system, brainstormed these forces, threats and opportunities. 4. Community Health Status  Appendix D This assessment measures the capacity and performance of all the organizations and entities that contribute to the public’s health. Public health professionals and a wide array of system partners representing public and private organizations that actively participate and contribute to Jefferson County’s local public health system (LPHS) were involved in this assessment. The system was evaluated based on the ten Essential Public Health Services (shown right). These ten services were developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials to provide a working definition of public health and a guiding framework for the responsibilities of local public health systems. Over 100 public health system partners assembled at the McWane Science Center to vote on how the Jefferson County local public health system measures up to the National Public Health Performance Standards. These partners represented key players in public health, including emergency management, state and local health departments, school systems, universities, health care professionals, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, senior citizens organizations, city youth services, and local government officials such as a family court judge, mayor and fire chief. Next Steps Jefferson County is the first county in Alabama to complete an assessment of its local public health system. The assessment results indicate that Jefferson County has a solid public health infrastructure and is able to address the essential public health services. However, there are some gaps and several significant opportunities to improve performance of the essential services by Jefferson County’s public health system. We will continue to engage partners in looking at data on community health status, forthcoming events that may affect the health of the public, and the local public health system as a whole. Partners have developed goals to be addressed in Our Community Roadmap to Health. An action-oriented community health improvement process cultivates community ownership of issues, solutions, and health outcomes. The ultimate goal of Health Action is to create sustained efforts in addressing health issues. Any agency, group, or citizen who has a stake in the health of the community is a potential partner, including governmental, public, private, non-profit, and voluntary agencies, as well as groups and individuals committed to the delivery of public health services. This is an ongoing process that determines priority community health needs, gathers scarce community resources, and creates action plans to improve the health of the community.