Improving Social Determinants of Health–Getting Further Faster Initiative

Forty-two community multi-sector partnerships participated in the first year of the initiative. Highlights of the key findings are summarized below:

• All 42 GFF partnerships built community capacity for addressing SDOH through new or strengthened partnerships, data and data systems, or strategic plans; leveraged resources; or engaged residents. Forty-one partnerships involved state or local health departments.
• Ninety percent of GFF partnerships contributed to community changes that promote healthy living, such as building new walking trails, bike lanes, and playgrounds; creating new community and school gardens; and adopting tobacco-free policies.
• More than half of GFF partnerships reported positive health outcomes data for their SDOH initiatives, including improved health behaviors, clinical outcomes, and overall health and wellness, and decreased health care use and costs.
• A modeling analysis of 29 partnerships’ SDOH initiatives suggested promising long-term impacts over a 5-, 10-, and 20-year time frame.

See the evaluation report for year 1.

Built Environment Success

West Louisville Outdoor Recreation Initiative’s infrastructure improvements and outdoor educational and recreational programming: Infrastructure investments included park amenities that expand youth outdoor educational and recreational programming and use of outdoor spaces by the community. Physical activity increased among participants in park programs. Of 128 participants, 60 completed pre-post surveys, which showed a significant increase in the number of days participants got at least 60 minutes of physical activity in 2018.

Community-Clinical Linkages Success

The Diabetes Research, Education, and Action for Minorities (DREAM) Coalition’s culturally tailored community health worker (CHW) intervention: CHWs were embedded into primary care practices and, using a randomized control design, enrolled patients at risk of developing type 2 diabetes or unable to meet blood sugar targets into treatment or control groups. Participants in the treatment group received five group educational sessions and two one-on-one visits delivered by a trained CHW, whereas those in the control group received only the first group educational session. The treatment group achieved significant improvements compared to the control group in physical activity, healthy eating and portion control, weekly blood glucose testing, daily foot checks, and medication adherence (N=127–144).

Food and Nutrition Security Success

Community Builders / Avondale Children Thrive Collaborative’s health champions: This coalition coaches mothers to adopt healthy behaviors, including eating healthier foods, attending prenatal appointments, maintaining smoke-free homes, adopting safe sleep practices for babies, and breastfeeding. Health champions also promote housing stability, facilitate preschool enrollment, and promote early literacy. This initiative is implemented in collaboration with the local health department and a children’s hospital. The program reported that mothers with a health champion shop for fresh produce at a mobile market 5 times more than other mothers.

Tobacco-Free Policy Success

Health Promotion Council of Southeastern PA’s tobacco dependence treatment (TDT): This coalition was able to reduce tobacco use by offering TDT programs at worksites, multi-unit housing sites, and behavioral health and community settings to reach populations at higher risk of tobacco use. About 1,100 adults annually, on average, receive TDT services from Southeastern Pennsylvania Tobacco Control Providers, and 39% of respondents to a 1-month follow-up survey reported not smoking in the past 30 days. Overall, there was a decrease in smoking rates in all but one of the counties where TDT was implemented.