How to Use Your County's Profile

CHSI was produced to give local health departments (LHDs) another tool for improving their community’s health. The suggestions below offer many ways to use CHSI to augment local ideas and activities.

Celebrate Your Success

In areas where a county’s health status excels, celebrate the good news and spread the word. Let the community know about its good health where the indicators are positive. Begin by connecting with media partners. Use the Press Release template to get the message out. Also consider getting the word out through editorial boards, Web sites, community meetings, schools and parent/teacher organizations, libraries, and other community centers and groups.

Learn from One Another

By comparing a county with the “ Peer Counties” with similar characteristics and the Nation, LHDs may be able to uncover reasons for rate differences. In areas where county rates are higher than others, share information about model programs that are making a difference, and think of other counties as good resources while working to improve the health of residents where a county’s health status is lower. Most likely, Peer Counties are tackling similar challenges. Communities can learn from one another as they work to create innovative solutions for improving health . NACCHO’s Model Practices Database [insert link] can also be used to identify innovative and effective strategies that have worked in other jurisdictions.

Develop Healthy Community Partners

Use the CHSI profile to promote discussion with individuals and groups with an interest in making the county a healthier place to live. Connect with existing community groups with an interest in the health of the community and quality of life and involve them in identifying barriers to good health and coming up with solutions for improving health status where needed. Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) and Protocol for Assessment Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE EH) are useful frameworks to assist in mobilizing the community to improve public health outcomes.

Get the word out through press releases, editorial boards, Web sites, community meetings, schools and parent/teacher organizations, libraries, and other places where people will become better educated about areas that need improvement.

Involve Health Care Providers and Policy Makers

While a county’s CHSI profile will probably not come as a surprise to those in the trenches of health care delivery, financing, and policy development, it may be an impetus for stepping back and reflecting on accomplishments and taking a hard look at areas that need improvement. Put the CHSI profile in the hands of board of health members, city council, county commissioners, State legislators, and business leaders. And make sure that health care professionals working in private practice, schools, clinics, hospitals, and public health receive the CHSI profile, along with their colleagues in social services, housing, food and nutrition, and other related programs. Improving health status takes a team effort and lots of muscle to compile data, or provide the ideas, funding, and delivery.

Take Another Look

If the CHSI profile shows areas in a county that need improvement, this might offer the funding justification for additional surveillance to track health status indicators. Better data may be needed to target programs and policies. The CHSI profile uses national-level data from several sources, many of which contain valuable county-level data. Examining these data may help identify areas where local or State data can fill critical gaps or where national data can be enhanced. There are may tools available to assist communities. See the Resources link for ideas http://phf.org/chsi/resources.htm.

If the CHSI profile shows areas in a county that need improvement, this might offer the justification for additional surveillance to track health status indicators. Better data may be needed to target programs and policies.

Integrate Your CHSI Profile Into Existing Health Planning and Assessment Activities

The CHSI profile is designed to fit into existing public health planning resources used by local public health agencies. Make the CHSI profile work by integrating it into an agency’s planning activities and action steps. The CHSI profile can be used with other planning tools, such as Mobilizing for Action Through Planning and Partnership (MAPP). For more information on how the CHSI data links with the new MAPP strategic approach for improving community health, visit the NACCHO Web site at www.naccho.org. The CHSI profile will be useful with other tools as well, such as the Data on the Federal Healthy People 2010 targets for the Nation are also included in the CHSI profile. Use these targets to set goals for the community. Use the CHSI profile and other data to provide a baseline for marking your progress towards Healthy People 2010.

Let Us Know How the CHSI Profile Works for You

We are interested in how the CHSI profile was/has been used. We also welcome suggestions on how the profile can be used or enhanced. You can contact us by sending an email to CHSI @phf.org .

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