III. Strategies for Success

Strategies for Success: Community Members

• Talk to your neighbors, civic leaders, elected officials, and others to see which issues they feel are most pressing and who they feel would be most interested in helping. 
• Call your appropriate local officials and ask for information about initiatives or activities that are already under way in your community. 
• Pick up the business section of the phone book and call the outreach officers of local care agencies to help you get your ideas going.

Don't be afraid to:

• Get to know the people around you.
• Ask local business and government employees to participate.

Resources (where to get more help):

• healthfinder®  Web site - the Federal gateway to health information (www.healthfinder.gov).
• Community Health Status Indicators (http://www.hrsa.gov/CHSINotice.htm).
• Your local health department.
• The police department.
• Your local library.

To find people in your community who can help, try...

• The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of your children's school.
• The local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Boys' and Girls' Clubs, neighborhood association, religious group, university or community health clinic, or local community health services office.
• Nonprofit organizations concerned with the issues facing your community.

Strategies for Success: Health Professionals

• Speak with your patients about forming local groups to target problems that you think are important in your community.
• Use your professional contacts, such as medical societies or professional associations, to find other health professionals concerned about improving the health of your community.
• Contact other health professionals (such as physician assistants, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, dietitians) and the nearest health department about ways in which you can lend support to community-based health issues.
• Speak to the media, local civic groups, religious organizations, and other concerned citizens about issues that may be important in your community.

Don't be afraid to:

• Carry the themes of your patients' problems over to your coalition work.

Resources (where to get more help):

• healthfinder®  Web site - the Federal gateway to health information (www.healthfinder.gov).
• Your local medical school/college or public health library.
• Hospital research resources.
• National, State, and local medical associations.
• Local health department.

Strategies for Success:
Local Government and University Partners

• Call neighborhood association members or civic groups (for example, Boy and Girl Scouts, Kiwanis) and ask them to sit in on meetings to find out what's important in your community.
• Go to the local schools and religious institutions to find out if anyone is working with your community on important public health issues.
• Ask within your department/office/workplace if any of your colleagues are already working to help address issues in your community.

Don't be afraid to:

• Be explicit about the commitments you can make and those you can't.
• Listen and act on the basis of community concerns.
• Explain to the community partners the role of your expertise in the overall process.

Resources (where to get more help):

• healthfinder® Web site - the Federal gateway to health information (www.healthfinder.gov).
• Nonprofit organizations concerned with the issues facing your community.
• The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of your children's school.
• References and Resources.

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