Creating a “Culture of Health” (COH) is a key initiative from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), focusing on “well-being and equity with the goal of empowering and supporting people to lead healthier lives where they live, learn, work, and play, now and in generations to come.”
This research summary, done on behalf of RWJF by the American Academy of Nursing (the Academy) and the RAND Corporation, focuses on three case studies demonstrating how nurses are playing a critical role in creating healthier communities. “Findings indicate that nurse-designed models of care focus extensively on activities in the four different "action areas" set forth in RWJF's COH framework: making health a shared value; fostering a cross-section collaboration to improve well-being; creating healthier, more equitable communities; and strengthening integration of health services and systems.” Community support and strong leadership were noted as crucial to the success of nurse-designed models of care.
Findings also note that efforts to create healthier communities around the country are often grant-based, and as such there is constant difficulty in “identifying a sustainable funding mechanism.”
Delaware is creating just such a sustainable pathway to funding community-based health initiatives with DCHI’s Healthy Neighborhoods Committee. As part of DCHI’s five-year initiative to transform healthcare in the state, Healthy Neighborhoods is addressing population health initiatives and social determinants of health by targeting four statewide priority areas: healthy lifestyles; maternal and child health; mental health and addiction; and chronic disease prevention and management.
For more details on Delaware Healthy Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.dehealthinnovation.org/healthy-neighborhoods.
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