Take Steps To...
Community Leaders
With this report, community leaders and advocates -- in the fields of public health and health care, business, education, and government -- can see where barriers to good health lie and work together to find solutions.
All of us have a role to play in raising awareness about the multiple factors that affect our health and the health of our communities. As a state or community leader, you are uniquely positioned to use this report as a call to action, informing community members about the findings and mobilizing your community so all residents can be healthy.
There are many tools and resources that community leaders can use as they work with others to improve community health. Some examples include:
- Tools for Community Action (from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Programs that Work in Communities (from Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease)
- Programs that Work in Schools (from Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease)
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Strategic Alliance ENACT Local Policy Database: Promising Practices in Nutrition and Physical Activity--an online resource of local policies that can improve opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity
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Active Living By Design--creates community-led change by working with local and national partners to build a culture of active living and healthy eating
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Community Health Living Index (from YMCA of America)-- a set of five community assessment tools that measure opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating and facilitate discussion about how to improve the community environment to increase opportunities for healthy living.
- Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and Environmental Change (ACHIEVE)--fosters collaborative partnerships between city and county health officials, city and county government, tribal programs, parks and recreation departments, local YMCAs, local health-related coalitions, and other representatives from the school, business, health, and community sectors to implement improvements
Here are some other ways you can help:
- Get the word out. Reach out to people you know and see every day about the County Health Rankings report, e.g., at a local Chamber of Commerce breakfast or at an urban planning meeting. Post information about the report on a listserv, website, or e-newsletter.
- Organize. Meet with local leaders and community residents to discuss barriers to health and ways to overcome them. Host a town hall meeting or invite people to one.
- Get policymakers to pay attention. Tell them about how their county or counties ranked and open a dialogue about ways to improve health in your community.
- Be an advocate. Step out as a spokesperson about the rankings and the health issues you care about and rally other community leaders to take action.
- Contact your local public health department about participating in a local task force or, if none exists, organize one to tackle these pressing issues in your community.
- Ask your local or state health department about what they’re doing in response to the report to make sure you aren’t duplicating efforts.
- Share your resources. Offer your time, staff, and/or funding with community partners. These are resources that can go toward community plans and programs aimed at tackling factors that affect health.
- Communicate your message. Write an op-ed or talk to local media about the rankings and what needs to be done to improve the health of your community.
- Start a conversation. Talk to your friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family members about the health of your community and what everyone collectively can do to make it healthier.
