Recommendation: Launch a regional community health data project, beginning with information on health status and disparities. 

What we heard:

Community health data needs to be collected in a consistent fashion in order to accurately assess residents’ health status and to strategically target funding for programs and services.

What we’ve done to date to advance this recommendation:

• Met with a variety of local stakeholders to explore opportunities for partnership, including representatives from University of Maryland School of Public Health, Georgetown University Department of Health Systems Administration, George Washington University School of Public Heath and the RAND Corporation

• Served on a Prince George’s County Research Task Force convened by Kaiser Permanente to explore gaps in health data in county

• Launched collaboration with and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Health Officers Committee and the Health Working Group of Washington Grantmakers to address regional health data needs

What we’ve learned:

There are a number of opportunities for us to improve the way that health data is collected, analyzed and shared in our region. We first need to determine what data is already being collected in individual jurisdictions and create a central repository where this information can be shared across the entire region. We need to tap into existing data sources that may not currently be accessible to researchers and the general public. We also need to establish common definitions and common indicators, so that all the data we do collect is comparable across jurisdictions. 

Over the next few years, jurisdictions in our region will be undertaking a community-wide strategic planning process around health called Mobilizing for Action through Planning & Partnerships (MAPP). Through ongoing communication and collaboration, health officers from around the region hope to align their MAPP efforts and develop common indicators that would facilitate regional health planning.

Next steps:

CHF and other health funders will continue working with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and health officers from around the region to develop robust regional systems of data collection and analysis. Our shared priorities include access to care for the uninsured, racial and ethnic health disparities and the social determinants of health.

Resources, model programs and practices:

Mobilizing for Action through Planning & Partnerships (MAPP), a community health strategic planning process designed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Centers for Disease Control  

Good Health Counts, A 21^st Century Approach to Health and Community for California, see excellent discussion of community health indicators on pages 24-59