title: A community approach to health.
abstract: Improving the health and well-being of a community may seem like a daunting task-particularly when you consider the vast number of factors that can influence the quality of life of a neighborhood or a region. It's not impossible, however, as six widely different communities across the U.S. are discovering. The Accelerating Community Transformation (ACT) project--now underway by The Healthcare Forum through a five-year, $5 million grant from pharmaceutical joint venture Astra Merck Inc.--is an innovative attempt to create real-life learning laboratories in communities as diverse as an inner-city neighborhood on the west side of Chicago; the small southern town of Aiken, S.C.: the semi-desert city of San Bernardino, Calif.; a corner of America's heartland where Missouri, Kansas. Nebraska and Iowa meet; the new town of Celebration, Fla.; and St. Louis, Mo. The goals: to evaluate and accelerate community-wide efforts that result in healthier, more desirable places for people to live, work and play; to build community capacity; and to achieve measurable improved health and quality of life outcomes.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hagland
mesh_terms: D002140:California; D002641:Chicago; D018672:Community Health Planning; D005431:Florida; D006302:Health Services Research; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D015146:Midwestern United States; D008923:Missouri; D017146:Models, Organizational; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D013022:South Carolina