Addressing Social Determinants of Health in Rural Communities

Burness tools for crafting effective messages and stories

• Messaging worksheet
• Tips for crafting successful stories
• Presentation slides: Messaging about SDOH in rural communities

NACCHO Resources

• Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health in Community Health Improvement Planning (video)
• Strategic Messaging Guide 2018

Frameworks Institute

Framing Healthy Communities: Strategic Communications and the Social Determinants of Health. Details the results of experiments conducted as part of a larger study of health communications research funded by The California Endowment and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. This study aims to understand and produce better ways to engage the public in thinking about health outcomes as a result of social and environmental factors.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

A New Way to Talk About the Social Determinants of Health

Culture of Health Prize Winners

• Allen County, Kansas
• Garrett County, Maryland

Below are videos and webinars you can use to educate yourself and others about the concept of social determinants of health

Social Determinants of Health: an Introduction

Michael Marmot and the Social Determinants of Health

The Colorado Trust Health Equity Learning Series

• Equity at the Intersection of Poverty, Migration and Health (2016): Deliana Garcia, MA of the Migrant Clinicians Network presented on the health challenges facing migrant workers and how these issues are related to health equity. Recordings with English and Spanish subtitles provided.

• Health Equity in Rural Communities (2015): Denise Gonzales, program director at the Con Alma Health Foundation, and Susan Wilger, MPAff, director of programs at the National Center for Frontier Communities, discussed health equity challenges and opportunities in rural communities of New Mexico, and how lessons learned from recent work can be applied to rural Colorado. Spanish and English recordings provided.

• Telling the Health Equity Story (2014): Laura Frank, president and general manager of news for Rocky Mountain PBS, and Llewellyn Smith, director of media for production at BlueSpark Collaborative, presented how they have told the story of health disparities through video, print and photos, as well as the importance of sharing compelling health equity stories.

• Health Equity and the Social Determinants of Health (2013): Adewale Troutman, MD, MPH, CPH, associate dean of health equity and community engagement at the University of South Florida and past president of the American Public Health Association, shared insights about how social determinants of health affect health, and what we can do to address these factors.

Human Impact Partners

• Advancing Health Equity in Local Health Departments: 4-Part Webinar Series

Public Health Institute

• Health in All Policies: A Guide for State and Local Governments

Building Healthy Places Network

• Healthy Communities Initiative Tool

Allies for Reaching Community Health Equity

Health Equity Stories

• Eating Away at Native Cultures: A Dam Creates a Flood of Diabetes
• Environmental Protection and Community Health: Only for the White and Wealthy?

Webinars and Videos

• Building Healthy Communities of Opportunity 2016
• Creating Equitable Food Systems with the Healthy Food Financing Initiative
• Equity, Opportunity and Good Health: How Transportation Affects Quality of Life in Metro Vancouver

The table below can be sorted by core competency and training topic. The core competencies are based on the domains within the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals. Below are the training topics included for classification:

Communicating the Importance of Health Equity and the Social Determinants of Health

Knowing how to discuss the social determinants of health and health equity in different settings can help local health departments establish new partnerships and gain the support of the community or other sectors. In order to do this, local health departments need to understand the specific goals of their audience and tailor the discussion so that the audience can see the value of this work.

Designing Effective Meetings

Meetings that are productive and engaging can help maintain partnership buy-in and accomplish action plan goals. Local health departments need tools and strategies that teach them how to encourage attendee participation, both in person and online, and leave meetings with specific next steps and action items.

Organizing and Engaging Partners

Cultivating lasting community partnerships is a necessary step towards addressing health outcomes. When searching for new connections, local health departments should identify their current strengths and relationships as well as any existing gaps in capacity. As time goes on, it is important for local health departments to evaluate the effectiveness of these partnerships in accomplishing their goals for the community.

Defining Strategic Issues and Creating an Action Plan

In order to improve health outcomes, local health departments will need to understand their root causes and develop plans that seek to address those causes. Health departments need tools and templates that help them to identify short/long term goals and develop measures and objectives for addressing the social determinants of health in their communities.

Evaluation

Conducting an evaluation helps to determine if a program, policy, or partnership is helping a local health department effectively accomplish their goal of addressing the social determinants of health. Self-assessments, partnership evaluations, and surveys are all useful evaluation tools.

Working with a Commitment to Health Equity

In order to effectively improve health outcomes, local health departments need to focus on the root causes of health issues. These tools help enhance general understanding of health equity concepts. They also identify strategies for maintaining a focus on health equity throughout the CHA/CHIP process and strategies for assessing competencies, and trainings that enhance understanding of health equity concepts.