CDC Community Health Improvement Navigator

Invest in Your Community: Improve Health and Well-Being for All

Health and well-being are products of not only the health care we receive and the choices we make, but also the places where we live, learn, work, and play. Community health improvement (CHI) is a process to identify and address the health needs of communities. Because working together has a greater impact on health and economic vitality than working alone, CHI brings together health care, public health, and other stakeholders to consider high-priority actions to improve health.

About CDC's Online CHI Navigator

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) online CHI Navigator is a one-stop-shop that offers hospitals, health systems, public health agencies, and other community stakeholders expert-vetted tools and resources for:

• Depicting visually the who, what, where, and how of improving community health [503 KB]
• Making the case for collaborative approaches to community health improvement
• Establishing and maintaining effective collaborations
• Finding interventions that work for the greatest impact on health and well-being for all

How Can I Use the CHI Navigator?

Making the Case for Collaborative CHI section: Read about hospitals that are engaged in collaborative CHI work and making an impact on community health. These brief vignettes highlight partnerships that led to outcomes important to the healthcare system, providing ideas for hospitals and their potential partners.

Tools for Successful CHI Efforts section: Find targeted tools to support success at every phase of the CHI process. This section also includes relevant quotations from the Internal Revenue Service Final Rule on Community Health Needs Assessments for Charitable Hospitals, to support hospitals and their community partners in their work together.¹

Database of Interventions section: Search the database for strategies that work in four action areas for the greatest impact on community health.

CHI Navigator Resources section: Download an infographic, slides, and fact sheets to engage stakeholders. Review information about the tools and database.

Frequently Asked Questions section: Learn more about the CHI Navigator, including its purpose, content, and how to get started.

CHI brings together health care, public health, and other stakeholders to consider high-priority actions to improve health.

Who Can Benefit from Using the CHI Navigator?

The CHI Navigator is for people who lead or participate in CHI work within hospitals and health systems, public health agencies, and other community organizations. Key target audiences include hospitals complying with the IRS Final Rule and other organizations with community health assessment requirements, such as health departments seeking accreditation, especially as these groups work together to improve their community's health.

Benefit to Hospitals and Health Systems

In this transformational time, the effectiveness of the health care sector is based more on value and patient outcomes than on the volume of services provided. To maximize impact on health, it is essential to address not only access to and provision of health care, but also the prevention of illness—including adequate nutrition—and a focus on the social, behavioral, and environmental factors affecting health and well-being.

Using the CHI Navigator, hospitals and other community stakeholders can find resources related to the CHI process and interventions that experts have reviewed and recommended for working collaboratively in four action areas: socioeconomic factors, physical environment, health behaviors, and clinical care. A balanced portfolio of interventions can lead to greater impact on patient and population health while reducing readmissions and cutting costs.²

Benefit to Other Organizations in the Community

Engaging in a collaborative CHI process, as described within the CHI Navigator, supports the mission of the organizations involved in using interventions that work—a strategic approach favored by many funders.

Visit the CHI Navigator for tools and resources to improve your community's health and well-being.

References

1. Additional Requirements for Charitable Hospitals; Community Health Needs Assessments for Charitable Hospitals; Requirement of a Section 4959 Excise Tax Return and Time for Filing the Return, 79 Fed. Reg. 78,953 (December 31, 2014) (to be codified at 26 C.F.R. pts. 1, 53, and 602), available at IRS Final Rule on Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) for Charitable Hospitals [600 KB].
2. Hester, J.A. and P.V. Stange. 2014. A sustainable financial model for community health systems. Discussion Paper, Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC.