Teaching Equity to Advance Community Health

This project aims at empowering community-based organizations (CBO’s) to successfully obtain resources to develop, implement, evaluate sustainable projects aimed at reducing health disparities.  The project provides and/or improves the skills to navigate the grant application process. Universities have faculty dedicated to apply for grants and are uniquely positioned to teach those skills. The newly created Colorado School of Public Health, specifically its Center for Public Health Practice, Inclusion and Health Equity, with the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), in collboration with other state organizations (Colorado Health Outcomes Program, COHO; Colorado Cancer Coalition, CCC; the Colorado Community Networks Program, CNP) is therefore taking the lead in bringing this knowledge to community-based organizations, frequently faced with having to respond to requests for proposals without the needed training. Specifically, the project will develop, in conjunction with the interested CBOs, eight modules as follows: 1) Health disparities data in the SLVAHEC region; 2) Grant writing; 3) Community involvement; 4) Coalition building; 5) Data collection and program evaluation; 6) Community and Patient Health Education (including literacy); 7) Resource assessment and development and 8) Cultural Competence.