About CoH – Purpose
Definition: Communities of Health is an ongoing and collaborative exploration to uncover and address fundamental factors within the social and environmental structure of communities that impact both individual and collective health.
Purpose: Communities of Health will instigate a profound force for good in the world. This force will be unleashed by building awareness of and urgency to address the fundamental “upstream” determinants of health.
Objectives: Demonstrate the value of an integrated approach that simultaneously addresses both individual and social dimensions of health:
- Measurably improve long-term health and productivity;
- Create a demand for thinking that challenges convention; and
- Explore new venues for meaningful collaboration.
Community-Driven Approach
Communities of Health engages communities in significantly improving the social and environmental conditions that are the major influences of health and illness in the places we live and work.
The approach brings together all stakeholders – citizens, business, government, education, health and other sectors – in an ongoing and collaborative dialogue to uncover and address underlying factors that determine health and well-being in our communities. Unlike traditional efforts that target specific issues, typically through outside intervention, Communities of Health creates change from within by generating deeper collective awareness, empowerment, and community-driven action.
Engaging All Stakeholders
In order to explore and address these fundamental determinants of health within a specific community, it is necessary to engage three broad constituencies:
- An expanding circle of citizens who believe addressing the health of their community is in their best interest;
- Local leaders, influencers and collaborators from business, government, civic, health/health care and non-profit sectors;
- Research partners versed in the health status, indicators, and determinants (e.g., social, economic and environmental) specific to the community.
A pre-condition for productive engagement of these constituencies is respect for the indigenous-expertise of the community itself.