Non-communicable Disease Capacity Building in Insular Areas

This project aims to improve and support chronic disease surveillance and epidemiologic capacity in the U.S. territories and affiliated jurisdictions in the Caribbean and Pacific oceans. This includes working with partners to build the capacity of U.S. territories and affiliated jurisdictions to implement cross-cutting, unified approaches to promote health, prevent and control tobacco use, diabetes, and heart disease, while allowing flexibility for jurisdictions to perform at a level appropriate with their current ability and resources to build capacity and advance their health goals.

Project Objectives

• To strengthen the capacity of public health staff to gather, analyze, interpret, and use data for decision making
• To strengthen the capacity for public health staff and their partners to increase the availability of physical activity opportunities
• To strengthen the capacity for public health staff and their partners to increase community-clinical linkages to by supporting prevention efforts, chronic-disease self-management programs, and diabetes self-management programs

Activities

• Provide training and technical assistance related to environmental approaches, implementing Stanford’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, and epidemiology training.
• Provide an action-oriented, team based approach that provides skill-based learning and action planning around environmental approaches for nutrition and physical activity.
• Provide technical assistance support beyond training that allows for problem solving during development and implementation of action planning. 
• Advise on community needs assessments including appropriate tools, data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Recommend appropriate intervention to address community needs assessment.

Outputs

• Capacity training workshop of public health staff and their partners to engage in action planning, community needs assessment, and strategy implementation for nutrition and physical activity
• Report on technical assistance needs for development and implementation of strategies to address nutrition and physical activity environmental approaches

Outcomes

• Increased understanding of environmental approaches for public health workforce and partners in insular areas
• Increased number of action plans developed that address environmental approach strategies in the various venues
• Increased number of insular territories and/or freely associated states with action plans related to nutrition and physical activity environmental approaches
• Number of chronic disease self-management program workshops implemented