Let's get social!

By: Joni Alonso, Healthy Utah program

The Utah Cancer Control Program (UCCP), Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP), Healthy Utah, and Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP) integrated to present the value of using Social Networks as a medium for health promotion. They co-presented at the Utah Council for Worksite Health Promotion conference in October. During the panel discussion each program shared their experience with utilizing social networks and answered attendee questions.

Whitney Johnson shared UCCP’s success with utilizing blogs to promote Cervical Cancer Prevention and encourage individuals to share their stories by creating a posting on their personal blog and/or Twitter account and entering it into the UCCP’s Cervical Cancer Prevention Contest.

Kelli Bradshaw shared Healthy Utah’s use of Facebook and Twitter to reach members, promote the program events, send health related information, and encourage discussion. Facebook has been a great avenue to connect with Healthy Utah members throughout the state.

David Neville shared the TPCP's success with their “Text2Quit” campaign which utilized text messaging to send daily tips to help get Utahns through the quitting process. For the TPCP, texting was a great resource to support smoking cessation in a convenient way that took into account people’s busy lives.

Grant Sunada shared DPCP's use of Twitter to not only distribute information but also as a tool to stay connected and see what people are saying regarding diabetes. The program has also utilized this as an opportunity to connect people to available resources.

Integration Highlight: Partnership Pays Off

The Baby Your Baby (BYB) Program began work with the Utah Indian Health Advisory Board (UIHAB) beginning in 1997, when it was noted that the American Indian/Alaskan Native population had low rates of adequate prenatal care. Several ideas were presented to the board for consideration with the concept of adapting the Baby Your Baby Health Keepsake for the American Indian/Alaskan native population.

Although the BYB Program and the UIHAB were both enthusiastic about the project, progress was slow going. Several new covers were created and a few changes were made to some of the pages. Then in 2009, the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP) entered into the partnership, making the vision a reality. The DPCP asked tribal representatives to review the current Keepsake and provide feedback and insight as to the changes they wised to see. BYB applied the feedback to the Keepsake, making as many changes as was feasible. Over 13,700 books were printed and will be distributed through tribal health representatives.

Integration Highlight: Getting to the Butt of the Problem

The Utah Cancer Control the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program integrated to get the word out about evidence-based social marketing campaigns. They co-presented at the Utah Public Health Association Conference in May. Both programs shared success stories and lessons learned in a presentation titled, “Successfully Reaching Your Target Audience: Getting to the Butt of the Problem."

Whitney Johnson discussed the UCCP's colorectal cancer screening program. They recruited the daughter of well-known Utah outdoorsman Doug Miller to tell the tale of how colon cancer is preventable. Everybody over the age of 50 should be screened for colon cancer. She shared focus group data that helped them identify barriers to colorectal screenings, then utilized that data to fine tune their advertisements resulting in a steady increase in colorectal screenings above the national average.
David Neville and Sarah Mangone exposed the tactics and products of tobacco companies that market to adults and especially young children with emerging products. They shared information about the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program's counter-campaign that integrated grassroots efforts, public relations, and advocacy to successfully make Utahns aware of these new products, angry with tobacco companies for their underhanded tactics, and ready to act to protect their kids and our community.

Learning together about integration! BHP BOOK GROUP! 8/30/10, 12:00 pm, Room 128

Join us August 30th for our next book group discussion on an article related to Program Integration. That said, I hope you also find broader applicability of this article:

Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail
John P. Kotter

Please join us for an in-person discussion of this article on:
August 30, 2010
12:00 – 1:00 pm (feel free to bring your lunch)
CHB, Room 128

Consider these initial questions for discussion:
1. How do the concepts in this article apply to your individual work?
2. How do the concepts in this article apply to the concept of Program Integration?
3. Regarding Program Integration, what errors have we made? Where are we doing well?
4. How do we avoid making the noted errors in the future?

Feel free to add your own discussion questions for consideration using the “comments” feature.

Playground Safety Week a Success!

By: Jenny Johnson and Brett McIff
Each year, more than 2,300 children are injured on public school playgrounds in Utah. That is enough students to fill 100 average elementary school classrooms.

In response, the Violence and Injury Prevention Program (VIPP), Gold Medal Schools (GMS), Physical Activity, Nutrition & Obesity Program (PANO), Salt Lake Valley Health Department, and Safe Kids Utah held a playground safety inspection to highlight common hazards and ways to keep kids active and safe on playgrounds. Most of the common safety hazards are the result of everyday use and wear-and-tear over time. Common hazards include improper surfaces beneath playground equipment, loose nuts and bolts, cracked slides, and worn swings.
Meetings were held and emails exchanged over the span of several weeks to plan the event and get approval for a Governor's proclamation. A news release and press event was held on April 27 at Calvin Smith Elementary in Taylorsville. Speakers included Kevin Condra, VIPP, JoAnn Crawley, Principal at Calvin Smith Elementary, and Greg Langfeld, an Environmental Health Specialist at SLVHD. The event was covered by local media including KSL, KSL radio, ABC4, Fox 13, and the Salt Lake Tribune. Governor Gary R. Herbert also declared April 26-30, 2010 as Playground Safety Week in Utah. Originally contacted by the National Program for Playground Safety, the VIPP and Safe Kids Utah sought out the participation of GMS and PANO to make Playground Safety Week a success. The SLVHD was invited to participate because local health departments have authority to conduct school health and safety inspections, which include outdoor playground equipment and playfields. Calvin Smith Elementary was selected as the location site because they are a Gold Medal School, in addition to being a recipient of a Safe Kids grant to improve the health of students by making environmental changes that encourage kids to walk or bike to school safely. Integration focused on incorporating physical activity and safety messages to encourage safe play.

The day's events, although hampered by rain/snow and high wind forecasts, was a huge success thanks to all the partners involved. Work will continue in the future to ensure safety and physical activity messages are incorporated as much as possible.

Lessons Learned:

• Start the process to get a proclamation signed by the Governor early! At least 45 days in advance of the event date. Involve the UDOH Office of Public Information in the process. There was some misunderstanding on the time frame and process for this activity but luckily, with the support of Dr. Sundwall, the National Program for Playground Safety, and the Governor's Office staff, the proclamation was able to be signed for the week's events. Read more on how to get a declaration signed....
• Be flexible and have a back-up plan (or several of them)! Due to bad weather, the press conference had to be moved up one day. This caused problems with one of the invited speakers, Mayor Peter Corroon, who was unable to attend the event after it was rescheduled. Because the event had to be held outdoors and during the week of April 26-30, it was more difficult to figure out what to do at the last minute when heavy rain/snow was in the weather forecast. It would have been helpful to have already figured out plans "a," "b," and "c" ahead of time with the hope that all invited speakers could attend any of the dates and times scheduled.
  

More information on student injuries in Utah, playground safety checklists, and ways to fix hazards on playgrounds can be found at http://health.utah.gov/vipp/schoolInjuries/PlaygroundSafety.html.

Learning together about integration! BHP BOOK GROUP—March meeting highlights!

By: Heather Borski

In early March, we had our first book group meeting to foster learning and discussion about integration.

Our first article was:
Recommendation for Integration of Chronic Disease Programs: Are Your Programs Linked?

If you haven’t read it yet, I highly encourage you to take a moment to do so. It provides an excellent overview of integration.

I offer my thanks to the BHP staff members who attended. It was an interesting and productive talk!

My top five highlights from the discussion include:

1. Integration MUST happen with the goal of improving health outcomes, not just to “integrate.”

2. We need to determine the indicators of integration and makes sure we measure progress and outcomes.

3. Finding a balance between “integration” and “categorical identity” can be challenging, especially when funding and bureaucratic systems favor “categorical identify.”

4. Is it time for the BHP cross-cutting workgroups to evolve? Is it time to move from idea sharing to higher level policy development and strategic planning?

5. How do we bring local health districts along with us in integration? Can we be doing more to integrate contracts and related work? Integrate progress reporting? Integrate training opportunities?

If you were at the meeting, what are your highlights?

If you’ve read the article, but weren’t able to attend the meeting, what are your thoughts?

Do you have input on the rhetorical questions that came up (noted in points 4 and 5, above)? Click on “Comments” below to contribute to the discussion!

Learning together about integration! BHP BOOK GROUP! First meeting: 3/2/10, 11:30 am

By: Heather Borski

Since integration is a relatively new concept to all of us, including me, we thought it would be useful to create structured opportunities for us to learn together. In March, we'll be launching a Book Group.

Our first article will be: Recommendation for Integration of Chronic Disease Programs: Are your programs linked? (Slonim AB, Callaghan C, Daily L, Leonard BA, Wheeler FC, Gollmar CW, Young WF. Recommendations for integration of chronic disease programs: are your programs linked? Prev Chronic Dis [serial online] 2007 Apr. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/apr/06_0163.htm.)

Please join us for an in-person discussion of this article on:
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m
CHB, room 128

Consider these initial questions for our discussion:

• Which noted barriers to integration apply to our bureau and how can they be overcome?
• How do we integrate while maintaining the guiding principle of "do no harm to categorical program identity?"
• In the recommendations for State Health Agencies, where are we already excelling? Where are opportunities to take action?

Feel free to add your own discussion questions for consideration using the comments feature on this post.

This is what we do

This video is an excellent way to explain to your friends, family, and colleagues what we do in public health!

www.generationpublichealth.org

Soaring on the wings of integration

By: Nathan Peterson

The title is a bit cheesy, we know. But recall your sudden flashback to the 1st grade as we broke out a stack of paper at our BHP retreat and started working together to build the perfect paper airplane. You have to admit it was fun! Some groups' methods resulted in planes reaching their full potential, while others... well let's just say some of us may not have paid much attention to our first lesson in airplane making when we were eight or just did our own thing without INTEGRATING with those around us. But despite your plane's ultimate ability to "wow" (or disappoint) your co-workers, we could all benefit from a few of the airplane making tips found here:

www.10paperairplanes.com
www.paperairplanes.co.uk/planes.php
www.funairplanes.com

Mapping the Future of Integration

By: Heather Borski

Our annual fall retreat in October was dedicated to the topic of integration: what is it? Why is it important? Who will be involved? Where are we going?

“Integration” is certainly a buzz word in public health these days. But I truly think it’s more than just buzz—it is the future of chronic disease prevention and health promotion. The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) has dedicated an entire portion of their website to integration. Check it out: NACDD Integration Page—there are some great resources and examples from others! The goal of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to integrate all funding streams within the center into a single cooperative agreement with each state. This process has already started with an integrated CDC cooperative agreement that pulls together funding for the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Diabetes Prevention and Control, Healthy Communities, and Tobacco Prevention and Control.

At the retreat, I shared a definition of integration from NACCD:

"Integration is the strategic alignment of categorical program resources to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of each program in a partnership without compromising the integrity of categorical program objectives."

In this definition, the term “effectiveness” is critical, obviously. Our driving motivation is to be effective in improving health outcomes. Similarly, “efficiency” is equally critical. Integration shouldn’t be about creating more work for ourselves, but finding ways to work differently to make best use of our time and resources.

I’m so pleased to see the integrated work already happening in our Bureau—during the retreat an Integration Success Story report was shared, highlighting what I know are only a few excellent examples. Our BHP cross-coordination workgroups have been in place for several years, and have served to facilitate joint projects in a number of areas. But I know we can do more—my goal is a bureau culture in which all staff at every level, when launching a project, ask "How can we work together? How can a joint effort be more efficient and effective than working alone?"

During the retreat, we had a productive discussion about the benefits of integration including:

• Improved experiences for our customers, through better care, better access, and improved services;
• Improved ability of our programs to impact the whole person and whole family units;
• Working with a broader range of contacts—having a larger “work family;”
• One-stop shopping that’s easier for individuals, programs, and providers;
• Improved problem solving, involving more perspectives;
• Maximizing use of scares resources;
• Improved ability to capitalize on new opportunities;
• Improved sustainability of program efforts;
• Less confusion for the public and other stakeholders who don’t see nor understand the silos we sometimes work under.

This all said, we also noted at the retreat that sometimes integration ISN’T best. We can’t integrate just to integrate. The question that drives us must be “what is the most effective and efficient way to improve health outcomes?” We need to be strategic in answering this question. I look forward to working with you on this question in the next weeks, months, and even years.

I welcome your input! Where do you see BHP and integration in the next year? What do you think needs to happen? How do we make creating a culture of integration a reality?

Latest buzz word

We've all heard them... coordination, collaboration, and now integration. Buzz words. But is this latest buzz word to hit the public health world doomed to fall by the wayside? Or is it here to stay?

We think it's here to stay.

After all, integration is "the strategic alignment of chronic disease categorical program resources to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of each program in a partnership without compromising the integrity of categorical program objectives" (as noted in Recommendations for Integration of Chronic Disease Programs: Are Your Programs Linked?).

Whew. Simply put, we believe integration will help us do our jobs better, making Utah a healthier and safer place for everyone to live, work, and play. As hardworking and dedicated professionals within the Bureau of Health Promotion, we each need to ask ourselves, "How can we work together? How can a joint effort be more efficient and effective than working alone?" After all, two heads are better than one!

As we embark on our journey to integration, we propose nine guiding principles to keep us on the right track.

1. Link/integrate where it makes sense - be strategic.
2. Be driven by improving health outcomes, not just to "integrate."
3. Identify ways to share resources.
4. Strive to be synergistic and symbiotic (value-added).
5. Maintain categorical program integrity.
6. Promote open communication. Identify and implement mechanisms to foster communication.
7. Evaluate cross-cutting process and outcomes and adjust accordingly.
8. Build stakeholder buy-in.
9. Promote success. (Read through some already successful integration projects happening right here!)
   

So, is integration here to stay? What benefits do you see in striving to create a culture of integration within the Bureau of Health Promotion? What issues do you see that could hinder our ability to truly integrate?