In creating CHNAs and CHIPs, communities use their own data to meet a range of health objectives, from addressing gaps in services to preventing and treating chronic conditions. These plans consider all dimensions of health, bringing the local agencies to the table, and respond to key questions that inform next steps and opportunities.
Every 2-5 years, communities, hospitals or other organizations examine the health of the people who live there in order to receive federal healthcare funding. They look at statistics and ask residents what they about their health issues. This information is used to inform a community health improvement plan. Browse the dashboard below to explore community health priorities in our partnering counties.
CHIPs help communities set SMART goals – goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound – to meet a range of health objectives. These can include addressing gaps in services to preventing and treating chronic conditions.
Local networks that inform the CHIP development and implementation are ideally composed of diverse organizations, including the following sectors:
- Health
- Education
- Business
- Non-profit
Status by community
Explore the current status of partnering communities through this interactive dashboard. Use filters to drill down on content and hover over counties to discover additional details.
Community Health Improvement Process
- ❶ Identify community partners
- ❷ Acquire and analyze data
- ❸ Finalize and present community health needs assessment (CHNA)
- ❹ Prioritize community health issues
- ❺ Recruit additional partners
- ❻ Plan implementation strategies
- ❼ Finalize and present community health improvement plan (CHIP)
- ❽ Implement community health improvement plan and monitor progress
Healthy Rural Indiana 2025 Project
In 2018, Dr. Priscilla Barnes, Associate Professor, Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, was awarded a grant to create needs assessments and health improvement plans in several counties.
With an overall goal of developing a practice model that can be adopted and implemented in other rural counties, Dr. Barnes is currently leading the development of CHNAs and CHIPs in seven rural Indiana counties.
Learn more about the initiativeWe're leveraging health partnerships to help manage COVID-19
OCRA announces partnership with IU to help manage COVID-19 in two counties
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced a collaboration with the IU to leverage community networks in Decatur and Daviess counties to effectively manage health crises, like COVID-19.
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How health partnerships can help rural communities prep for COVID
Building more resilient rural communities means maximizing existing resources, staging health interventions that address root causes, and thoughtfully sharing information. Partnerships are at the core of these interventions.
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