The following tools and resources can help your community in its efforts to improve health for all residents—from planning an initiative to reporting on its success.
Resources from DCH
- Built Environment Assessment Tool Manual
The Built Environment Assessment Tool Manual helps individuals measure the core features of the built environment that affect health in their community—especially walking, biking, and other types of physical activity—and the quality of those features.
- Testing Core Community Health Messages with the Public [PDF–794K]
This executive summary of research findings details the Division of Community Health’s efforts to better understand how to effectively communicate with the public about community health and relevant issues.
- Communication Planning Tool [Word-500K]
The Communication Planning Tool will help you plan paid, earned, partner, and digital/social media efforts over a 12 month period. Using this tool will help support and sustain program initiatives.
- Community Health Online Resource Center
This searchable database of resources provides practice-based tools that support environmental improvements in communities to prevent disease and promote healthy living. Resources include webinars, toolkits, guides, fact sheets, and other practical materials.
- Practitioner's Guide for Advancing Health Equity
This health equity guide is a resource for public health practitioners working to advance health equity through community health interventions. While health disparities can be addressed at multiple levels, this guide focuses on policy, systems, and environmental improvements designed to improve the places where people live, learn, work, and play. The guide contains sections that focus on foundational skills, tobacco-free living strategies, healthy food and beverage strategies, and active living strategies.
- Community Health Media Center (CHMC)
The CHMC is an online repository of advertisements and marketing materials about preventing obesity and chronic conditions. Its purpose is to share best practices, audience research, and communication materials to save time and costs for producing and placing tested advertising, developed for obesity and chronic disease-related prevention, beyond tobacco. Content for the CHMC is produced by the Division of Community Health, other CDC divisions, state and local health departments, and partners related to obesity and other chronic conditions.
- Success Stories Application
Turn your success stories into strong, professional, polished documents with this free online tool from the Division of Community Health. This innovative application, available to DCH awardees as well as the public, collects stories detailing the work supported by the CDC. These stories illustrate the health impact of creating sustainable environmental changes that address tobacco-free living, healthy eating, active living, and preventive services.
- Sustainability Guide [PDF–44M]
This Guide provides science- and practice-based evidence to help public and community health professionals develop a sustainability plan and learn key sustainability approaches like partnerships, organizational strategies, and communication plans.
Other Tools and Resources
Looking for more resources? Find additional community health tools and resources on the DCH program pages.
- Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH)
- Community Transformation Grants (CTG)
- Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW)
- Healthy Communities Program (HCP)
- Page last reviewed: July 15, 2015
- Page last updated: July 15, 2015
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