Tools & Resources
Choose Shortcut
This document provides a two-page summary of steps in the Action Center's Choose Effective Policies & Programs guide.
2021 County Health Rankings Research Grant Call for Proposals
This is the application and background material for the 2021 County Health Rankings Research Grants Call for Proposals.
PHRASES Framing and Messaging Toolkit
This toolkit (from Public Health Reaching Across Sectors) provides evidence-based framing and messaging tools and strategies to help public health professionals communicate across sectors.
SparkMap Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)
This Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) tool, developed by the Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) at the University of Missouri, supports users in assessing the health of their communities. Users can create custom data reports at the county-level using a wide range of indicators from many data sources, including the County Health Rankings.
The Planner's Playbook: A Community-Centered Approach to Improving Health & Equity
The Planner’s Playbook: A Community-Centered Approach to Improving Health & Equity (from ChangeLab Solutions) provides guidance, resources, concrete steps, and examples for planners who wish to center equity in their planning practice, with the aim of producing communities of opportunity and prosperity for all.
Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health: A Checklist on Steps and Standards
This tool (from The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University) provides actionable guidance and checklists for completing a program evaluation process.
Building Your Partnership's Capacity for Change
This guide (from CHR&R) provides tools and ideas that help you assess your partnership's strengths and capacity needs, and explore how to further maximize your existing network and build connections with those who believe in your mission and want to invest in your community.
Hernando, MS
The 2011 County Health Rankings classified Desoto County as the healthiest county in Mississippi for health outcomes and the fifth-healthiest county for health factors, with lower unemployment rates, higher education rates and greater access to healthy food compared to the rest of the state. Yet much more work needs to be done to improve the health of Desoto County, as one-third of its adults are obese and Mississippi, overall, has the highest obesity rates in the nation.
San Bernardino County, CA
The 2011 County Health Rankings ranked San Bernardino County—which spans more than 20,000 square miles and a population of more than 2 million—50th out of 56 California counties in health factors like physical environment, social and economic factors, health behaviors and clinical care.
But initial disappointment over its low ranking didn’t prevent the San Bernardino County Health Department from seeing the County Health Rankings as an opportunity to strengthen its current health improvement initiatives and persuade policymakers of the need for change.