title: Coalition for a Healthier Community: Lessons learned and implications for future work.
abstract: The Coalition for a Healthier Community (CHC) initiative was implemented to improve the health and well-being of women and girls. Underpinning CHC is a gender-based focus that uses a network of community partners working collaboratively to generate relevant behavior change and improved health outcomes. Ten programs are trying to determine whether gender-focused system approaches are cost-effective ways to address health disparities in women and girls. Programs implemented through coalitions made up of academic institutions, public health departments, community-based organizations, and local, regional, and national organizations, are addressing health issues such as domestic violence, cardiovascular disease prevention, physical activity, and healthy eating. Although these programs are ongoing, they have made significant progress. Key factors contributing to their early success include a comprehensive needs assessment, robust coalitions, the diversity of populations targeted, programs based on findings of the needs assessments, evaluations taking into consideration the effect of gender, and strong academic-community partnerships. A noteworthy impact of these programs has been their ability to shape and impact public, social, and health policies at the state and local levels. However, there have been challenges associated with the implementation of such a complex program. Lessons learned are discussed in this paper.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford, 1601 Parkview Avenue, Rockford, IL 61107, United States. Electronic address: mkhare1@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Manorama M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Khare
authors.affiliation: Urban Health Equity, Education and Research, Drexel University College of Medicine, 2900 Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129, United States; Women's Health Education Program and National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, Drexel University College of Medicine, 2900 Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129, United States. Electronic address: anunez@drexelmed.edu.
authors.forename: Ana E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Núñez
authors.affiliation: Office on Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 728F.3, Washington, DC 20201, United States. Electronic address: Barbara.james@hhs.gov.
authors.forename: Barbara F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: James
mesh_terms: D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006265:Health Care Coalitions / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D014495:Universities / Q000458:organization & administration; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: Academic–community partnerships; CHC; Coalition building; Community needs assessment; Evaluation; Gender focus