Center for Healthy Communities Program Agenda for 2004-2005   Inventory of University Resources: A major objective of the Center for Healthy Communities is to more effectively utilize the resources at the University of South Alabama to help address health disparities and to assist community efforts to achieve sustainable development. The Center will chronicle health and community service activities undertaken in the various schools and colleges, departments and programs, and organizations at the University. Linkages will be developed with each school and college. This will initially involve meeting with each dean and select meetings with department chairpersons and program directors, followed by a written survey instrument that will be sent to all department and organizations. Information gathered will be used to produce a "USA Healthy Communities Resource Directory," which will be made available to the university and the community. It will also be maintained and disseminated electronically.   "People-centered" community health assessment activities: Successful implementation of the Center's mission requires the establishment of trusting relationships with minority and underserved populations, health care providers and scholars within the academic community. In this regard, the first program targeted for development by the Center is a series of "people-centered" community health assessment activities that will allow various communities to help determine their own healthcare priorities and enhance the capacity of individuals to become partners in the provision of healthcare societies. The expected outcome is a community specific knowledge-base of health concerns and problems developed through the use of ethnographic, phenomenological and epidemiological research techniques.   Community health advisors program: Community assessment activities will identify strategic leaders and resource persons who would be recruited and trained to serve as lay community health advisors. These resource persons will be individuals in the community seeking information, advice and support on issues that are important to them, including those relating to their health. Community health advisors, with appropriate training and support, are expected to serve as effective links between individuals and the healthcare system. They will include civic and religious leaders, barbershops and beauty salon proprietors, and other strategically placed individuals.   Health promotions campaign: In conjunction with community health advisors, advocacy groups and university resources, a health and disease awareness campaign will be developed that addresses each of the health disparities described in Healthy People 2010. The campaign will involve establishing collaborative partnerships with area health departments, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the National Kidney Foundation, the American Lung Association and other advocacy programs.   Enhancing Cultural Competence: The Center will help the University and health care community become more competent in responding to cultural, ethnic and linguistic factors that have the potential to influence patient outcomes and enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of health care delivery. Crucial to creating this desired competence is the development of clinical and support staffs, within the health care profession, who know to ask about and negotiate cultural issues, appropriate food choices, and other measures affecting human health. The Center will develop seminars and short courses for students and health professionals in these areas. It will also help identify volunteer staff to assist with translating written materials and facilitating sensitive discussions about treatment, consent and advance directive forms.   A quarterly Healthy Communities Newsletter will be developed and circulated, which will include timely discussions on cultural competence. An email distribution list will also be used to disseminate health care information.   Increasing the Number of Minority Healthcare Professionals: The Center will develop linkages with historical black colleges and universities to help facilitate the enrollment of more minorities in health degree programs at the University of South Alabama. Linkages will also be developed with high schools and community colleges to help encourage minorities to consider healthcare careers.   Enhancing Research on Health Disparities: The Center for Healthy Communities will serve as a catalyst for enhancing research on health issues affecting minorities. Each appropriate institute and research program at the University will be asked to develop components that address health disparities. New research grant proposals will be monitored for this potential as well. The Center will serve as a resource as these components are considered. The initial focus of the Center will be on research for cancer, renal diseases, diabetes and heart disease.   Emerging Health Technologies and Health Disparities: In conjunction with telemedicine, engineering, computer and information science, the Center for Healthy Communities will encourage the application of emerging health technologies to help address health disparities and to enhance access and delivery of healthcare to underserved populations. In addition to promoting the use of remote health monitoring and teleconferencing technologies to address health disparities, efforts will also be made to ensure that advances in gene therapy, microelectromechanical systems, and nanotechnology consider the needs of underserved populations.   Housing and Healthy Communities: The Center for Healthy Communities will serve as a catalyst for enhancing the awareness of the relationship between housing and health. The focus will be on helping underserved communities recognize possible health threats that may be present in their homes (indoor air quality, accidents, asbestos, volatile organic components, etc.) and options available for addressing them. The Center will also seek to foster research on the health impact of housing, identify health priorities in housing, and promote responsible home ownership and management practices.