Action Institutes and Training

The Healthy Communities Program convenes selected community action teams at CDC-sponsored Action Institutes. These institutes train community leaders in how to make policy, systems, and environmental changes to help prevent and control chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity and reduce the prevalence of health-risk factors such as tobacco use and exposure, insufficient physical activity, and poor nutrition. Community action teams receive training from innovative national experts and develop an action plan during the 3-day institutes. They also gain access to a wide range of action tools and resources and hear from peer communities about how to undertake an effective community-change process.

Upcoming Action Institutes

 

ACHIEVE Action Institute (Eastern U.S.): July 14–16, 2009, in Alexandria, Virginia
ACHIEVE Action Institute (Western U.S.): July 21–23, 2009, in Denver, Colorado

Held in advance of the ACHIEVE Action Institutes, the ACHIEVE Coaches Meeting—April 1–2, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia—prepared community coaches to convene teams of local leaders and elected officials that represent multiple sectors and to assess the presence and strength of policies in their communities. In addition, coaches learned the importance of policy and environmental change strategies for chronic disease prevention and health promotion.

An ACHIEVE Action Institute is held for the incoming ACHIEVE communities selected each year. Two Action Institute locations will be used in July 2009 to accommodate the larger number of newly selected ACHIEVE communities (43 this year vs. 10 initial communities last year) and to facilitate travel to and from the conference. The ACHIEVE Action Institute will train the Community Health Action and Response Teams (CHARTs) in policy and environmental change strategies that focus on chronic disease prevention and health promotion, as well as in community-action and community-change processes. These institutes will also offer local teams the tools, resources, and strategies for developing an action plan to build healthier communities. CDC's first Action Institute for ACHIEVE communities was held on June 9–12, 2008, in Alexandria, Virginia for the 10 initial communities.

 

Recent Action Institutes

Strategic Alliance for Health Action Institute: April 15–17, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia

CDC's first Action Institute for the 2008 Strategic Alliance for Health (SAH) communities was held at the Tom Harkin Global Communications Center, located at CDC’s headquarters campus in Atlanta, Georgia. Subject matter experts from around the United States joined those from CDC to train SAH community representatives on creating healthy communities through sustainable, innovative, and evidence- and practice-based community health promotion and chronic disease prevention programs that promote policy, systems, and environmental changes. Sessions included the following topics: building on program development and evaluation; opportunities and resources for policy, systems, and environmental changes; and tools and strategies for sustaining programs. Team-building opportunities were also scheduled to promote further discussion and infrastructure development.

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