Tools & Resources

There are many tools available to assist in the development of effective population health improvement programs, and we are always looking for more. Do you have a tool or resource to share?  Please submit it here.

General

• CDC, The Community Guide to Preventive Services. Evidence-based recommendations for programs and policies to promote population health.
• CDC and the Partnership for Prevention, The Community Health Promotion Handbook: Action Guides to Improve Community Health. Free resource that translates specific recommendations from The Guide to Community Preventive Services into "how to" guidance to help public health practitioners and others interested in promoting health implement effective community-level health promotion strategies.
• CDC/NACDD/NPC/AHRQ, Collaborative for Estimating the Cost of Chronic Disease: Chronic Disease Cost Calculator. Estimates the economic burden of selected chronic diseases in the Medicaid population at the state level and allows the user to generate estimates of the economic burden of chronic disease using customized inputs.
• Gallup-Healthways, Well-being Index. Provides up-to-date measurement of individual and collective health and well-being based upon 1,000 daily polls conducted in the US.
• Partnership for Prevention, Priorities for America's Health: Capitalizing on Life-Saving, Cost-Effective Preventive Services. Ranking of the health impact and cost effectiveness of 25 preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
• Lots A Helping Hands website. Online resource for patients and caregivers to coordinate needs and volunteer services to support patient's and caregiver's needs.
• American Public Health Association, Toolkit for Intervention of Overweight Children and Adolescents. Tools for parents, teachers, students, and community leaders to help reduce childhood and adolescent obesity.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). Searchable database of interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders.
• Kaiser Family Foundation, List of Public Health Data Sources. Provides links to public data sources with statistics on health and health policy.
• Nationwide Children's Hospital, Snackwise Calculator. Online tool that rates snacks when user enters information from nutritional label.

Schools

• Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Healthy Schools Builder. Online tool that helps schools create healthier school environments that promote physical activity and healthier eating.
• American Lung Association, Asthma-Friendly Schools Toolkit and Asthma Incidence Reporter database. Downloadable tools designed to assist communities in completing a comprehensive asthma management program within a coordinated school health program.
• CDC, School Health Index. Online, confidential self-assessment and planning tool schools can use to improve their health and safety policies and programs.
• NHLBI, Obesity Education Initiative. Information on asthma for health professionals. It also includes asthma materials for schools.
• National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, Model School Wellness Policies. Set of model school nutrition and physical activity policies that meet federal requirements.
• US EPA, Healthy School Environmental Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT): customizable software to help school districts evaluate and manage their school facilities for key environmental, safety and health issues.

Health Care System

• Health Research and Educational Trust Disparities Toolkit . Web-based tool that provides hospitals, health systems, clinics, and health plans information and resources for systematically collecting race, ethnicity, and primary language data from patients.
• AHRQ, National Guideline Clearinghouse. Online public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.
• AHRQ, Health Care Innovations Exchange, Quality Tools. A compilation of practical tools for assessing, measuring, promoting, and improving the quality of health care.
• NACDD, CDC, Administration on Aging, Aging States Project. Provides information on health needs, activities, and partnerships related to older adults and an overview of current health promotion and disease prevention efforts for older adults.
• NACDD, State Success Stories. Provides examples of innovative state-based public health models for chronic disease prevention and health promotion.
• Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts. Lists individual state statistics on several key health demographics and other statistics.

Workplace

• American Cancer Society, Obesity and Tobacco Cessation ROI Calculators. Tools for employers to assess the financial return on an investment in tobacco cessation and weight management programs.
• Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, Employer Innovations Online. Provides case examples of successful corporate approaches to address mental health in the workplace.
• DMAA The Care Continuum Alliance and National Association of Manufacturers, "Wellness, Disease and Care Management: Background for Developing a Business Strategy." Employer toolkit for developing a workplace wellness business strategy.

Communities

• YMCA, Community Healthy Living Index. Provides communities with an instrument to measure: qualitative information about physical activity and healthy eating resources, policies and programs and quantitative data about physical activity and healthy eating assets and needs. Information available from: YMCA of the USA, Government Relations and Policy Office, 800-932-9622.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Community Toolbox. Free, internet-based service to assist you in addressing community health and development issues in your community.
• Healthy People in Healthy Communities: Healthy People 2010: Guide for building community coalitions, creating a vision, measuring results, and creating partnerships dedicating to improving health.
• CDC, Resource Guide for Nutrition and Physical Activity Interventions to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases: Guide for nutrition and physical activity programs to prevent and control obesity and other chronic diseases.
• Unnatural Causes Toolkit. Unnatural Causes Toolkit. Toolkit based on the current PBS documentary Unnatural Causes provides facilitation tips, background, sample agendas, and guidelines to help advance health equality.