Clinicians are often the first to see the contributors to and consequences of poor health behaviors. Thinking of ways to help our communities address these issues can be of great importance and contribute to a sense of meaning within the community. However, prior to diving in to a new project it can be beneficial to fully understand health concerns across the community and what programs may already be in place. Regional or Community Health Assessments provide data about a wide range of health behaviors and health outcomes, and are often used to guide the development of public health and clinical programs. Knowing how to find, understand and use your areas Community Health Assessment is an important first step in thinking about the best health and wellness projects for your area.
Webinar participants will:
- Locate the Community Health Assessment for their own region and describe how the data was collected.
- Identify the strengths and limits of the Community Health Assessments.
- Utilize Community Health Assessments to guide the development of their own projects.
Presented by:
Jackilen Shannon, PhD, RD
Professor, School of Public Health
Director, Integrated Program in Community Research
Oregon Health & Science University
Dr. Shannon brings her institutional knowledge from the School of Public Health and the Knight Cancer Institute Community as well as her wealth of experience working with communities to her position as Lead of the Community-Engaged Research Core within OCTRI. Over the past six years, Dr. Shannon has brought her population science research experience to her work in community engagement and education. Specifically, Dr. Shannon developed and expanded an education and research program, Let’s Get Healthy!, that provides personalized health education to school children and adults while supporting the development and growth of a population-based anonymous data repository for academic and community use.
Dr. Shannon's training and early career in population science has also informed her efforts to utilize both epidemiologic and community based methodologies in addressing the long term goal of enhancing community engagement in research and the research process. To this end, she has developed a formal mechanism for working collaboratively with community groups and hospital systems in regions throughout the State to bring the power of academic research to community level decision-making. The result of this work has been the establishment of the Community Research Coalitions. These coalitions, through close interaction with local health systems and policy makers, provide a liaison between communities and researchers and work closely with community leaders to identify areas of research need, and with academic institutions to identify investigators able to assist in addressing these identified needs.
Filed In:
- Community Convenings
- Consumer Engagement