MPH NEWSLETTER VOL. 21
WE’RE HERE TO HELP WITH YOUR COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT & IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY / IMPROVEMENT PLAN!
Hi there,
Happy January to our talented and kind MPH community! We hope you had restful holidays with your loved ones. Goal setting is important at this time of year - and we want to send a reminder out to our community to THINK BIG! There is no limit to what we can achieve through collaboration.
Reach out to us anytime to learn more about what we do - Community Health Needs Assessments and CHIPs/Implementation Strategies! Set up a FREE discovery call with us here.
In this month’s newsletter we wanted to take a deep dive into the “community health improvement plan (CHIP)” or “implementation strategy (IS)” aspect of what we do. For those of you who may not know, these terms refer to a similar process for either a local health department or a hospital and their community partners.
Far too often, this aspect is “tacked on” to the end of a community health (needs) assessment and is not adequately followed up/actioned to see true health improvement in our communities. Implementation deserves the spotlight - today and every day!
Stay healthy,
IN THE NEWS…
Looking for educational opportunities?…
Register now for the Catholic Health Association’s webinar, IRS Form 990, Schedule H: An overview and update on current tax exemption issues, February 18, 2025, 1 -2:30 p.m. ET!
This webinar will review the purpose, requirements and tax implications of the IRS Form 990, Schedule H and current issues related to Form 990, Schedule H and 501(r) community benefit requirements. Presenter: Stephen Clarke, JD from EY.
Learn more and register: https://www.chausa.org/events/community-benefit-webinar---feb-28-2025/overview
And later in the month… join us for our next Lunch and Learn session with your Moxley Public Health team!
Join CEO Stephanie Moxley and the Moxley Public Health team for a session that will explore best practices and actionable strategies for creating a CHIP/IS that is not only feasible but also more likely to be successfully implemented and sustained over time. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to share ahead of time. We want to make this session useful to YOU!
WHAT IS IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE?
Implementation science is focused on developing and evaluating methods to reduce gaps between research and practice
When we think about our CHIPs/Implementation Strategies for hospitals and health departments, it is important to remember to tie them back to the roots of implementation science - applying research findings into practice.
This is NOT a passive activity. In other words, after doing the research (the community health assessment), we have to “do” the implementation (the CHIP/implementation strategy). In their article, Lu et al. 2020 offer three key activities that are required for the on-the-ground implementation that leads to community health improvement: stakeholder engagement, process mapping, and problem solving. All three are things that we support our clients with when consulting on their CHIP or Implementation Strategy.
did you know?
In a recent study by Hatton et al. 2024, it was determined that many CHIPs/implementation strategies lack attention to equity and inclusive planning processes. Interviews with authors revealed “challenges engaging partners, making clear connections between CHIPs and social determinants, and a lack of capacity or public and partner support [that] often led to the exclusion of the social determinants of health”.
It is so important to center EQUITY in our CHIPs/implementation strategies. This involves setting “the hard” goals like system change and looking at ALL the social determinants of health and how to address challenges. It also involves investing in processes that make this possible, such as improving data infrastructure and providing funding for dedicated planning professionals.
tips & tricks of the month
Wondering how to get started with your CHIP/implementation strategy? The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials developed a step-by-step guide for creating a health improvement plan!
public health organization spotlight
When we talk implementation, we have to spotlight the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)’s Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) 2.0 strategic planning process. It ties together the community health assessment, improvement plan, and evaluation processes, while focusing on “the vital role of broad stakeholders and community engagement, the need for policy, systems, and environmental change, and alignment of community resources toward shared goals”.
We’ve learned SO MUCH by studying this approach and love to use it in guiding our work. They offer concrete guidelines for truly ENGAGING with a community - and emphasize the importance of this in achieving and MAINTAINING health improvement. In fact, MPH team members completed an in-person, interactive MAPP 2.0 training program just last year!
mph favorites to share with you…
We lovingly call Steph our “goal-setting freak”! She uses the same strategy to set goals in her personal life as we use with our clients when developing their CHIPs (Community Health Improvement Plans). And this year, one of her big goals is READING.
Stephanie has started a list of learning and self-improvement books that she wants to read in 2025, and wants to share that with you all this month: The 5am Club by Robin Sharma, Let Them Theory by Mel Robins, Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck by Mark Manson, and Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven.
This month, Allie recommends vising the Community Commons website. This AMAZING online community connects change-makers with the best tools, resources, and data to support their work.
Particularly relevant to public health professionals, it has sections for health, mental health, equity, and other social determinants of health. Check it out!
Looking for a study evaluating CHIPs in the U.S. context? Elissa wants her recommendation to deliver! Check out this 2020 article from the American Journal of Health Studies.