Communities of Interest - Healthy Communities
| Leader |
|---|
 The Leader of this COI is Deborah Clark. Deborah Clark, MLIS, AHIP, oversees the health sciences library at Stephens Memorial Hospital on Norway, Maine. She is also the director of the Maine Health Learning Resource Center in western Maine. Deb earned her MLIS from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 1997. She received the Eleanor C. Cairns Award presented by the Maine Health Science Libraries and Information Consortium in 2007 for outstanding service in librarianship in Maine and has served on the HSLIC Board since 1999 and is currently HSLIC Chair. Her e-mail address is clarkd@wmhcc.org. |
| Facilitator |
 The facilitator of this COI is Michelle Eberle. She can be reached at michelle.eberle@umassmed.edu |
A Healthy Community is where people come together to make their community better for themselves, their family, their friends, their neighbors, and others. A Healthy Community creates ongoing dialogue, generates leadership opportunities for all, embraces diversity, connects people and resources, fosters a sense of community, and shapes its future. (O'Connor, Cathy 2010) Healthy Communities is an approach to understanding and improving health and well-being. (Ayre, Clough, and Norris, Principals, Community Initiatives, LLC, 2006)
The concept of Healthy Communities is not new. In 1978, the World Health Organization's Alma Alta Declaration identified that health is broader than just physical well being and involves mental, emotional, social and spiritual health. The 1986 Ottawa Charter outlined the need to create healthy policy and supportive environments through community action, developing personal skills, and reorienting health services. The Healthy Communities movement was spurred further by the McGinnis and Foege findings (McGinnis, J., Foege, W., JAMA 1993 Nov 10; 270(18);2207-12). After examining the leading causes of mortality (smoking, diet and activity patterns, toxic agents, firearms, sexual behavior and drug use) the authors contend that health is created by 10% medical care; 40% lifestyle and behavior; 30 % human biology. Healthy Communities is concerned with efforts to improve preventative medicine with healthy lifestyle and behavior choices. The Healthy Communities concept embraces a socioecological model towards the community, public policy, organizational, interpersonal and individual. All parts are related.
According to Ayre, Clough and Norris, healthy communities are based on the principles of a broad definition of health, a broad definition of communities, shared vision and values, quality of life for everyone, diverse resident participation, widespread community ownership, investment in youth, focus on systems change, capacity building using local assets and resources, and benchmarking and measuring process outcomes. (Ayre, Ibid.)
The Healthy Communities initiative is an area of intersection with the consumer health program. As NER develops relationships to establish new partnerships and audiences for training and services, Healthy Communities coalitions and collaborations will be identified to form lasting relationships with NER or Network members who will be part of their local initiatives and provide information services either to Healthy Communities leaders and planners or to the audiences at which Healthy Communities programs and activities are directed. The Community of Interest will explore these collaborative communication models and the outreach opportunities for both Network members and NER. The COI will tap into those Network members already involved in Healthy Communities efforts to communicate to the larger region accomplishments, progress, and successes of librarians involved in community collaborations.
The Healthy Community approach involves working effectively with a variety of community based organizations and facilitating partnerships in the community with the common goal of improving public health. Creating a healthy community means active engagement of persons of all ages, education and economic backgrounds.
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