Cross-Sector Partnerships Can Improve Health Outcomes

Grant program promotes collaboration among state governments and community organizations in pursuit of innovative solutions

Cross-Sector Partnerships for Health

In 2019, The Health Impact Project launched an initiative to forge lasting collaborations among government agencies and community nonprofits that will develop solutions for complex public health problems stemming from conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play. By combining resources and expertise from the health, housing, transportation, and other sectors, this effort aims to help state and local leaders more effectively address poor health outcomes, such as maternal and infant mortality. Such cross-sector partnerships rely on shared work and accountability and are particularly important where policy and programmatic decisions can disproportionately affect certain racial, economic, and geographic populations.

The project made two-year grants to nine states—Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington—and Washington, D.C., to create and support cross-sector, multiagency teams that will use evidence-based strategies to target social and economic drivers of health other than individuals’ behavior and access to medical care. Each jurisdiction’s team includes representatives from health care systems and a community organization, and the project and subject matter experts supply participants with technical assistance and training—in person and online—to develop coordinated action plans and track outcomes. The leadership structures, skills, and lessons gained from this work will give states a blueprint for future interagency efforts to advance residents’ health.

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America’s Overdose Crisis
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America’s Overdose Crisis

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America’s Overdose Crisis

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Factors that Shape Health and Well-Being

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Research shows that the conditions in which people live, learn, work, and play influence their health. Individual health choices and access to quality care represent just part of the equation to ensure all people are as healthy as possible.

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The Health Impact Project’s toolkit contains resources that help communities, agencies, and other organizations take action to improve public health. The toolkit offers a collection of health impact assessments, guides, and other research to support policymakers’ efforts to consider health when making decisions across sectors, such as housing, planning, and education.

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Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

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How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?