Steps to a HealthierUS logo Philadelphia

The Steps to a HealthierUS five-year cooperative agreement program aims to help Americans live longer, better, and healthier lives by reducing the burden of diabetes, overweight, obesity, and asthma and addressing three related risk factors—physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use.

For FY 2003, this U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) program allocated $13.6 million to fund 23 communities, including Philadelphia, to implement community action plans to reduce health disparities and promote quality health care and prevention services.

Project Area

Fifteen contiguous Philadelphia neighborhoods: Center City, Cobbs Creek, Fairmount-Spring Garden, Haddington-Overbrook, Millcreek-Parkside, Nicetown-Tioga, Northern Liberties-West Kensington, Paschall-Kingsessing, Poplar-Temple, Schuykill, Sharswood-Stanton, Southwark-Bella Vista, South Broad-Girard Estates, Strawberry Mansion, and University City (population 500,000).

Target Population for Steps Interventions

Racial/ethnic minorities who experience a disparately high prevalence of the targeted conditions and risk factors, people living below the federal poverty line, people without health insurance, people living with a disability, and people with limited English proficiency.

Proposed Interventions

Media

  • Partner with the public radio station (WHYY) to implement a social marketing campaign to focus on media venues such as radio, television, town meetings, and digital broadcasts.
  • Policy

  • Implement uniform standards of care for medical providers (through evidenced-based clinical guidelines and office-based prompts) for obesity, diabetes, and asthma in managed care plans.
  • Influence local restaurants to provide healthier options on menus.
  • Support local governmental and community initiatives that address crime/safety in areas where people potentially exercise.
  • School-Based

  • Assess the health environment of schools using CDC’s School Health Index assessment and planning guide.
  • Hire a school health coordinator and assistant coordinator.
  • Implement Health Trip, a worksite wellness program that encourages employees to make healthy choices, in all schools within the targeted neighborhoods.
  • Assess no smoking policies for staff and students on and around school grounds; coordinate referrals of students and staff members to community-based smoking cessation programs.
  • Expand existing Health Clubs (supervised physical activity programs aimed at students with chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, and obesity) to more schools in targeted area.
  • Community-Based

    • Commit to using point-of-decision prompts in the buildings of partners, and their contractors where feasible.
    • Partner with faith-based organizations to enhance diabetes self-management education programs.
    • Enhance the existing care coordination model of the Asthma Call Center, which currently targets children with asthma to include adults with asthma and diabetes.
    • Use the Temple Intergenerational Theater Group and Health Promotional Council to train local neighborhood block captains to become promotoras (lay health workers) for diabetes awareness in targeted neighborhoods.

    Workplace

  • Implement Health Trip in all hospitals in the targeted area.
  • Health Care

  • Partner with three Medicaid managed care organizations to coordinate development of clinical practice guidelines for the care of obesity, asthma, and diabetes and other provider and patient disease management tools; improve provider delivery of diabetic care through coordinated/collaborative activities of Quality Insight.
  • Evaluation

    HHS will provide training and technical assistance to help each Steps community develop measurable program objectives and specific indicators of progress and use relevant data to support ongoing program improvement. HHS also will conduct a national evaluation of the overall program. Existing data sources, such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, will be used to identify and measure program outcomes and assess progress toward program goals.

    Community Consortium

    American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Greater Philadelphia Diabetes Coalition, Latino Diabetes Alliance, American Lung Association, Mayor’s Office of Health and Fitness, School District of Philadelphia, African American Interdenominational Ministries Inc., Health Promotion Council, Health Federation of Philadelphia (CHC’s & FQHC’s), College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (DVHC), University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Temple University, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to Advance Population Health, St. Agnes Medical Center, Mercy Health System, Quality Insights, Philadelphia Allies Against Asthma, Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, Healthier Babies, Healthier Futures Inc., Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline, National Nursing Center Consortium, Independence Foundation, WHYY PBS Affiliate, Food Trust, and Tobacco-Free Education & Action Coalition for Health and Neighborhood Bike Works.

    Philadelphia Steps Contact

    Brenda Shelton-Dunston, MPH
    Project Director
    Steps to a Healthier Philadelphia Initiative
    Philadelphia Department of Public Health
    1101 Market Street, 8th Floor
    Philadelphia, PA 19107
    (215) 685-5693
    (215) 685-5398 fax
    Brenda.Shelton-Dunston@phila.gov

    Note: Steps communities have until May 2004 to finalize their community action plans. Proposed interventions may change accordingly.

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