National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

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Exemplary State Programs

Content within this section is adapted from State Programs in Action: Exemplary Work to Prevent Chronic Disease and Promote Health, 2004.

View Exemplary State Programs by
•	State
•	Chronic Disease or Risk Factor
	Aging (91K–PDF)
	Arthritis (129K–PDF)
	Block grant (117K–PDF)
	Cancer (90K–PDF)
	Cancer Registries (1.2MB–PDF)
	Diabetes (125K–PDF)
	Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (91K–PDF)
	Healthy Youth (104K–PDF)
	Heart Disease and Stroke (132K–PDF)
	Nutrition Physical Activity (118K–PDF)
	Oral Health (98K–PDF)
	Prevention Research Centers (86K–PDF)
	Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (104K–PDF)
	Tobacco (129K–PDF)

One or more documents on this Web page is available in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need Acrobat Reader (a free application) to view and print these documents.

In every state, chronic disease programs are making a difference in the battle against deadly and debilitating chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. This book showcases some of the best state programs in the nation—programs that are using bold, creative, and highly effective strategies to prevent and control chronic diseases and to help people of all ages lead healthy, productive lives.

More than 90 million people in the United States live with a chronic illness. Seven of every 10 deaths in this country are caused by a chronic disease. Chronic diseases can be prevented through lifestyle changes—for example, healthy eating, regular exercise, and living tobacco free—as well as screening programs to detect and treat these diseases early.

These model programs were selected by state chronic disease directors, state prevention program coordinators, and CDC staff. To be selected, programs had to be based on strong research, demonstrate innovative approaches, or yield positive, measurable outcomes. These examples showcase urban and rural programs as well as programs that reach diverse populations and those that give at-risk populations access to direly needed preventive care services.

Types of CDC-Funded Programs

These model programs differ, depending on the type of CDC funding they receive (as noted in the line at the top of most examples; those with blank lines are programs that receive CDC technical assistance and other support but not the type of funding described below). It is important to understand the differences between these funding categories:

Capacity building funding strengthens the capacity of states through the development of a state team, a state plan, partnerships, and a program design to assess and reduce the burden of chronic diseases. These efforts also must address disparities in chronic diseases and associated risk factors, including the piloting of prevention and control interventions and delivery strategies.
Basic implementation funding, through work with partners, helps states to establish public policies that support health promotion, systems changes, environmental interventions, and social marketing and communications efforts at the state and local levels. States can establish interventions in high-priority communities, reaching high-risk groups, and then share those valuable lessons learned throughout the state and with other states.
Community demonstration project funding supports local, innovative interventions. These projects are evaluated to determine whether such interventions should be conducted broadly statewide or nationally.

CDC’s Role With States

As the nation’s prevention agency, CDC has a mandate to prevent unnecessary death, disease, and disability. CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion works hard to ensure that advances in basic scientific and behavioral research are put into practice. Key scientific findings must be applied, evaluated, and reflected in state and local health policies and widely adopted as community practices across the country. CDC’s goal is to apply research findings in chronic disease prevention and control so that the public health benefits reach people in communities across the country.

CDC’s mission is to help states develop comprehensive, lasting prevention programs that target the leading causes of death and disability as well as their risk factors. They also must focus on populations with the greatest need and build on a foundation of scientific evidence. Specifically, CDC provides states with

Public health research data needed to measure the burden of chronic diseases, identify populations at risk, target program efforts, and evaluate program effectiveness.
Scientific and technical expertise in such areas as epidemiology, program design, and evaluation.
Public and professional education.
Effective communications strategies to promote health.

By sharing these exemplary programs, CDC hopes that other states will adopt these unique strategies and strengthen chronic disease prevention efforts at the state and local levels.

This page last reviewed August 10, 2004

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion