Center for Community Health Transformation Background

Background

The Center for Community Health Transformation, established in 2001, prepares individuals, organizations and communities to gain mastery over their health and well-being. The center's goals are to demonstrate a social action model of community health transformation and to disseminate this model nationally.

The DeKalb County Board of Health has always served the Clarkston community. However, in 1993, Clarkston became a special focus due to the diverse population and increasingly pervasive social problems that were affecting residents' health and their ability to access health care.

The Clarkston Health Collaborative was created to address the conditions in Clarkston. On the collaborative's behalf, in 1999, the Board of Health received a Whitehead Foundation for Community Transformation grant. The grant funded five Transformation for Health workshops for women, youth and other Clarkston community members. Transformation for Health training prepares participants to listen for key issues within their community and to identify and implement action solutions. Currently, a number of projects addressing issues identified by participants are underway in Clarkston.

The accomplishments in Clarkston are serving as a demonstration model that the center will disseminate to other communities. The Center for Community Health Transformation also plans to provide training and program development assistance to local, state and national public health organizations. Funding for these activities is being sought.

Vision, mission and goals

Vision

  • Community members come together, identify theirown health problems, determine appropriate action solutions and work together to implement them.
  • Transformed communities are in control of the determinants of their own health and well-being.
  • The social and political environment is changed and equity and quality of life are improved.

Mission
The Center for Community Health Transformation prepares individuals, communities and organizations to implement a social process through which they become responsible for their own health and well-being.

Goals

Goal 1
Demonstrate a social action model of community health transformation by:

  • Selecting a community of focus
  • Building relationships within the community
  • Providing training for community members
  • Mentoring key people to listen for generative themes within their own community
  • Facilitating the critical thinking process to identify action solutions
  • Facilitating the implementation of action solutions
  • Evaluating the process and the impact of the process.

Goal 2
Disseminate the social action model developed by the Center of Community Health Transformation by:

  • Replication of the original model in other communities
  • Presentation of the model at key public health conferences
  • Preparation and submission of articles for journal publication
A social action model of community health transformation

The Center for Community Health Transformation is using the following model in Clarkston. This demonstration project will be the basis of training and program development assistance to local, state and national public health organizations.

STEP 1: Selecting a community of focus
Center staff visit with various local communities to ascertain their readiness to participate in a community transformation process. Readiness indicators are: leadership support, resident involvement in community action, existence of community organizations and interest within the community.

STEP 2: Building relationships within the community
Key to any community project is building relationships. No project goes forward unless time and energy are dedicated to getting to know people, establishing rapport and building trust. It is important during this phase to visit with leaders of all formal and informal community organizations, agencies, businesses, clubs and faith communities.

STEP 3: Providing training for community members
Once relationships are well established, it is time to offer a training workshop to interested community members. This workshop, entitled "Transformation for Health," will prepare community leaders to listen to their fellow residents and to develop their community based on the needs and wants of its members.

STEP 4: Mentoring key people to listen for themes within their community
Once people have participated in the Transformation for Health training, they are ready to return to their community to listen for those things about which people have strong feelings. Center staff provide mentoring during this listening process as people identify themes and facilitate critical thinking around the issues.

STEP 5: Facilitating the critical thinking process to identify action solutions
Trainees work with their community through the use of codes and triggers to facilitate their critical thinking process so that they determine their action solutions.

STEP 6: Facilitating the implementation of action solutions
Once the community determines its action solutions, it is important to assist with the implementation. Facilitating the identification of funds and resources becomes a key role for staff. Also, assisting with planning is important.

STEP 7: Evaluating the process and its impact
Documentation will take place during the entire process. Both quantitative and qualitative data are analyzed. The effects of the process on the lives of residents and their communities are examined.

Funding

The Center for Community Health Transformation is part of the DeKalb County Board of Health. The center seeks funds from foundations and other sources to support its programs and services.

Contact the center

Contact
Christopher Holiday, M.P.H.
Carlene P. Randolph


Mail
Center for Community Health Transformation
Population Based Services
DeKalb County Board of Health
445 Winn Way - PO Box 987 - Room 355
Decatur, GA 30031
or
Clarkston Community Center
PO Box 217
Clarkston, GA 30021

Phone
404-508-7845 (DeKalb County Board of Health)
or
404-294-3797 (Carlene Randolph)

E.mail
info@dekalbhealth.net