Epidemiologic Capacity of Local Health Departments
Addressing the Need to Reduce Health Disparities
Touch No Tobacco (TNT)
Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program
Diabetes Sentinel Program
College Tobacco Prevention
Health in Motion Mobile Clinic
North Carolina Public Health Incubator Initiative
Epidemiologic Capacity of Local Health Departments—an epidemiologist was hired by the partnership to analyze and present county and regional health data for 11 local health departments in the partnership. In addition the epidemiologist has provided region-wide training for health department staff. Trainings have included Principles of Epidemiology, Epi Info software, Presenting Health Data. The Epidemiologist responds to health department requests for data and other technical assistance.
Reduction of Health Disparities—each health department has allocated a health educator from their staff to serve as disparity gap coordinator. These coordinators help to link the partnership to community coalitions such as Healthy Carolinians, and School Health Advisory Councils, and help to implement research and programs conducted by the NENCPPH. In addition, the disparity gap coordinators attend quarterly trainings on how to implement culturally appropriate public health programs. A health educator was hired by the partnership to work throughout the region and to coordinate the activities of the disparity gap coordinators.
Touch No Tobacco (TNT)—TNT is a tobacco prevention program aimed at teens in 11 of the counties served by NENCPPH. The purpose of the program is to prevent tobacco use initiation, eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke, promote tobacco cessation, and reduce health disparities attributable to tobacco use. A Project Coordinator, four Youth Tobacco Prevention Coordinators and a Media/Marketing Specialist form the staff of the program which is funded by the Health and Wellness Trust Fund. Link to pdf of tobacco-free restaurants in Northeastern North Carolina.
Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention—
Diabetes Sentinel Program—
College Tobacco Prevention—this Tobacco-Free Colleges Initiative serves 18-24 year olds attending college in Beaufort, Chowan, Dare, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Pamlico and Pasquotank counties. Funding for the project is provided by a NC Health & Wellness Trust Fund grant (2006). Statewide efforts to address tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) have been primarily focused on youth ages 12-17 and adults. However, recent studies show that 18-24 year olds represent the only group in which smoking rates are rising rather than falling. College students are especially vulnerable to tobacco addiction. Nationally, 29% of college students are current smokers. In
North Carolina, 27.8% of 18-24 year olds smoke and of those, 58% have tried to quit in the last year. Colleges and universities across
North Carolina are challenged with helping the three quarters majority remain non-smokers, and encouraging current smokers to quit.
The Northeastern Regional grant provides services and support to the following institutions:
1)
Beaufort
Community College*
2)
Chowan
University
3) College of the
Albemarle**
4)
Edgecombe
Community College
5)
Halifax
Community College
6)
Martin
Community College
7)
Pamlico
Community College
8)
Roanoke-Chowan
Community College**
*Indicates smoking not allowed within 50 ft away from buildings
**Indicates total smoke/tobacco-free policy
Project goals include:
1) Preventing the initiation of tobacco use;
2) Reducing exposure to environmental smoke
3) Providing information on treatment options for those wishing to quit through cessation techniques including
Quitline
NC
4) Reduce health disparities attributable to tobacco use
5) Advance the adoption of Tobacco-Free Campus policies.
Health in Motion: a Mobile Outreach Clinic—NENCPPH is launching the mobile clinic project, Health in Motion, in northeastern
North Carolina. The goal of the NENCPPH mobile clinic is to provide at risk populations access to Human immune virus (HIV) prevention and primary care and treatment services. The mobile clinic will also visit communities to provide screenings for cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, and infectious diseases. Health in Motion receives funding from a Ryan White Title II grant and a Kate B. Reynolds grant.
North Carolina Public Health Incubator Initiative—In 2004, the NC legislature authorized the creation of "public health incubators," innovative organizations that foster more effective and efficient allocations of resources. The incubators enable a "critical mass" of resources and shared activities that are often necessary to provide essential public health services and are otherwise unavailable to many of the under-resourced local health districts that are Incubator participants. The Public Health Incubators are modeled after the Northeastern North Carolina Partnership for Public Health (NENCPPH) which was formed in 1999 and has demonstrated the efficacy of such a partnership. The NENCCPH is one of six public health “incubators” currently funded through this initiative. The following projects are being implemented by the NENCPPH with 2007/2009 Incubator Funds: NENCPPH Infrastructure Support and Business Insights/Lean Applying Lean QI concepts to Public Health to support all ten Health Departments in the NENC Partnership
2004/2005 incubator funds went toward:
NENCPPH Strategic Planning
Quality Improvement Planning
Diabetes Prevention Social Marketing Campaign
Geographic Information System (GIS) Capacity
Common Billing System for Health Departments
Regional Health Department Staff Training
