The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH), and the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center (IUSCCC) have come together to strengthen their partnership to improve health in Indiana by forming Connections IN Health. This alliance unites the state’s health coalition development work, and the IUSCC’s community and engagement initiatives with that of Indiana CTSI. Connections IN Health is led by the Indiana CTSI’s Community Health Partnerships program, which works to improve health in Indiana through community-university partnerships and community-based health research.
Connections IN Health supports stakeholders, organizations, advocates, and residents as they come together to improve health and address chronic diseases. Connections IN Health facilitates collaboration within communities by connecting stakeholders with evidence-based practices, identifying funding sources, and addressing health equity for all.
Over the last decade, all four of the initiatives have made significant progress promoting local community health efforts. The Connections IN Health team’s primary goal is to further these health promotion efforts across the state.
Connections IN Health partners with statewide organizations, including Purdue Extension, which is involved in more than 172 health coalitions across the state and has educators in all 92 Indiana counties. In 2021, Connections IN Health began partnering with Purdue University’s Indiana Healthy Opportunities for People Everywhere (I-HOPE) project to share community engagement processes and connections to address health inequities across Indiana. Additional collaborations began in 2022 with IU Health and the Diabetes Impact Project of Indianapolis (DIP-IN) with the Indianapolis Health Equity, Access, outReach and Treatment (iHEART) project working to address high rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in specific neighborhoods experiencing lower life expectancies than their neighbors.
Using county health and social determinants of health data, Connections IN Health has identified 10 counties with the most opportunity for growth, existing coalitions and partnerships already working to address health challenges and willing community partners to work with in the first 5 years of the project (2020-2024). Learn more about the Connections IN Health county engagement here.
Connections IN Health includes four statewide chronic disease initiatives
The Indiana Joint Asthma Coalition (InJAC) develops and promotes Indiana’s statewide strategic plan, in collaboration with health departments, and stakeholders, and partner agencies in rural and urban communities to: improve quality of care, reduce environmental triggers, provide asthma-related trainings and presentations to healthcare professionals, schools, non-profit organizations, hospitals, local health departments, and partner agencies, and increase public awareness of asthma as a serious chronic disease and improve the knowledge and skills of patients regarding detection, treatment, and control of asthma, particularly among high-risk populations. Learn more.
The Equity, Engagement and Prevention initiative collaborates with the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Community Outreach and Engagement Office, Purdue University I-HOPE, Purdue Extension and IU Health and DIP-IN with the iHEART project to provide resources and expertise across Indiana to engage communities in strategies to increase equity and prevention of chronic disease.
The Hoosier Health and Wellness Alliance (HHWA) seeks to increase positive health outcomes within Indiana by providing the support and effective strategies needed to optimize local impact. Embracing values of collaboration, education and food equity the coalition continues to work on capacity building efforts around the built environment, innovative ways to share the expertise of members, and an increased level of community engagement. Learn more.
The Cardiovascular and Diabetes Coalition of Indiana (CADI) is working to help Hoosiers address the burden of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and stroke through education, collaboration, awareness, advocacy, and access to care. CADI uses its long-standing history of engaging various partners throughout the state in service of this work. The coalition has successfully been able to develop and launch the Better Together Plan, Indiana’s first statewide strategic plan to address cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke together. Learn more.
Over the last decade, all four of the initiatives have made significant progress promoting local community health efforts. The Connections IN Health team’s primary goal is to further these health promotion efforts across the state.
Connections IN Health partners with statewide organizations, including Purdue Extension, which is involved in more than 172 health coalitions across the state and has educators in all 92 Indiana counties.
A community’s greatest resource are its own residents. Community coalitions have the potential to harness the power of existing community resources to expand on the potential for significant, positive improvements to a community’s health and well-being. Learn More
News and Updates
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Connections IN Health in Washington County- part four of the county engagement project story series
Engaging in Starke County to Begin in December 2022