Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refers to traumatic events experienced in childhood that impact health over the lifespan. These include physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, and/or family dysfunction. Learn more about specific ACEs linked to negative health outcomes in adulthood, including: experiencing homelessness, community violence, discrimination, and deportation or migration.
The Mental Health in Rural Communities Toolkit compiles evidence-based and promising models and resources to support organizations implementing mental health programs in rural communities across the United States, with a primary focus on adult mental health.
The modules in the toolkit contain resources and information focused on developing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining rural mental health programs. There are more resources on general community health strategies available in the Rural Community Health Toolkit.
Community health workers are a crucial resource for healthcare transformation. Take a look at a new article from the NEJM Catalyst series.
While sociologists, educators, and economists have pointed to the role of social factors in health and well being for decades it has only been in recent years there has been increasing awareness of the crucial role that social determinants of health (e.g., education and income), have on health throughout the lifecourse. As described in a recent article about screening for social determinants in primary care pediatrics, health care delivery sites can make a big difference in connecting patients to community services.
Lake Whatcom Residential and Treatment Center (LWC) strives to be a hub of services to its clients and to treat the whole person through primary care integration. Between 2011 and 2013, LWC participated in Washington State’s Healthy Communities, Washington Healthcare Improvement Network in order to develop a system to manage care for clients with complex medical needs and to strengthen behavioral health agency collaboration with primary care providers.
Founded in 1979, Food Lifeline is part of the national “Feeding America” network that assists in collecting food that would otherwise go to waste to provide meals to thousands of people across Western Washington. Food Lifeline rescues millions of pounds of this surplus food from farmers, manufacturers, grocery stores, and restaurants and focuses on a long term solution to hunger.
Contra Costa partnered with Health Leads to integrate patients' basic needs into care delivery. Learn about their challenges and experiences in shifting from volume-based to value-based care.