Health Assessment & Improvement

What Is a Community Health Improvement Plan?

A community health improvement plan (or CHIP) is a long-term, plan to address public health problems based on the results of community health assessment activities and the community health improvement process. A plan is typically updated every three to five years.

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) defines a community health improvement plan as a long-term, systematic effort to address public health problems on the basis of the results of community health assessment activities and the community health improvement process. This plan is used by health and other governmental education and human service agencies, in collaboration with community partners, to set priorities and coordinate and target resources. A community health improvement plan is critical for developing policies and defining actions to target efforts that promote health. It should define the vision for the health of the community through a collaborative process and should address the strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities that exist in the community to improve the health status of that community.

Why Complete an Assessment and Improvement Plan?

A community health assessment gives organizations complete information about the community’s current health status, needs, and issues. This information can help develop a community health improvement plan by showing how and where resources should be used to best meet community needs.

Benefits include

• Improved organizational and community coordination and collaboration
• Increased knowledge about public health and the connection between activities
• Strengthened partnerships within state and local public health systems
• Identified strengths and weaknesses to address in quality improvement efforts
• Baselines on performance to use in preparing for accreditation
• Benchmarks for public health practice improvements

The goal in collaboration is to improve the behavioral, physical, mental and social health and overall well-being of our community. There are many factors that affect one’s health; collaboration encourages connecting, coordination and working together around common goals to help strengthen the programs, services, and resources that create a healthy community.

You can get involved now by visiting the POWER Defiance County Website.

Explore the resources below to learn more about the Defiance County Community Health Assessment (CHA) and Defiance County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). New to the CHA and CHIP? A good place to start is the CHIP Talking Points and CHIP Summary. Questions may be directed to the Health Promotion Division at DCGHD by calling 419-784-3818.