CPH Faculty and Staff Publish on Community Partnerships in Rural Tennessee
Ginny Kidwell, executive director of the Tennessee Institute of Public Health, has authored an article in the Journal of Appalachian Health. The article, “Using Mini-Grants to Build Multi-Sector Partnerships in Rural Tennessee” examines creation and implementation of the Regional Roadmaps series of “mini-grant” programs across rural Tennessee
The Tennessee Institute of Public Health is housed within East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health. Kristine Bowers, evaluator for the Tennessee Institute of Public Health, along with Taylor Dula and Dr. Randy Wykoff, faculty member and dean of the College of Public Health, are additional co-authors.
Rural counties in Tennessee, including those located in Appalachia, face some of the greatest health challenges in the nation. Unpublished data collated by the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health show that Tennessee’s 52 Appalachian counties vary dramatically from its 43 non-Appalachian counties in virtually all socioeconomic, behavioral, and health outcome metrics. Since 2011, the Tennessee Institute of Public Health has actively encouraged local communities to address behavior change, enhance educational achievement, and improve economic conditions as essential components for improving health and well-being in rural Tennessee.
The purpose of the mini-grant programs was to support the development of community-level, multi-sectoral partnerships that link health, economic development, and education as catalysts to improving health and well-being in those communities. A mantra evolved from these projects: “Everyone benefits from a healthy, educated, drug-free workforce.”
Over the first 5 years of this project, a total of $217,500 was awarded as $2500 (75 grants) and $5000 (6 grants) mini-grants to community-based organizations representing 81 programs in 87 of the 95 Tennessee counties. Fifty-one (63%) programs were awarded to communities within the 52 Appalachian counties of Tennessee. This experience shows that mini-grants can be a highly effective and relatively inexpensive mechanism to build regional partnerships, encourage inter-sectoral collaboration, and empower communities to identify and address their health challenges.