Center for Public Health Innovation

What is capacity building?

Capacity building is how organizations and communities develop and strengthen their skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world. (United Nations, 2022)

Our work is to build the knowledge, skills and resources across Columbus Public Health and community organizations that are needed to advance racial health equity. We offer support, trainings and consultations to help our staff and outside organizations improve their skills, abilities and services to the community. 

Resources:

• United Nations Capacity Building
• Health Equity Guide hosted by Human Impact Partners
• All-in Cities Racial Equity Impact Assessment
• CDC Health Equity
• CDC Social Determinants of Health Map
• APHA Health Equity
• RWFJ Health Equity

What is community engagement and participatory planning?

Our work is to focus on  meeting community needs and addressing issues to improve health. We influence, motivate and empower others to help the community and the department to be successful. We work directly and collaboratively with all communities of Columbus and Worthington to find and resolve public health issues. 

Researches and recommends policies to advance equity while collaborating with other programs to evaluate equity impacts and department-wide work plans.

Medical information is often misunderstood or misinterpreted by people with limited health literacy, which can result in missed appointments, medication errors, poor patient compliance and potentially poor health outcomes (American Medical Association). The following resources can help providers to better communicate with their patients. 

Resources:

• Plain Language, U.S. Government
• The Clear Language Group
• Health Literacy Fact Sheets
• Health and Literacy Special Collections

The LGBTQIA+ Health Initiative at Columbus Public Health was created to address gaps in care and issues of health inequity within LGBTQIA+ communities. The initiative works to provide cultural competency/humility training to healthcare and social service professionals, connect community partners through the Greater Columbus LGBTQIA+ Health Coalition, and promote healthy lifestyle choices with programs geared toward LGBTQIA+ communities. 

Cultural Competency Training and Technical Assistance
Training and consultation for healthcare, community, and social service organizations to create safer and more inclusive healthcare and social service experiences for LGBTQIA+ clients.

Greater Columbus LGBTQIA+ Health Coalition
A community-based initiative made up of community leaders, organizations, health care providers, and allies working together to improve the health and safety of LGBTQIA+ communities in Columbus.

Resource Guide
Local and national organizations that offer support geared towards the LGBTQIA+ community.
English(PDF, 102KB) - Spanish(PDF, 137KB) - Somali(PDF, 74KB)  

Contact us at lgbtqhealth@columbus.gov.

• Health Equity Guide hosted by Human Impact Partners - https://healthequityguide.org/
• All-in Cities Racial Equity Impact Assessment https://allincities.org/toolkit/racial-equity-impact-assessments
• CDC Health Equity https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/healthequity/index.htm
• CDC Social Determinants of Health Map https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/maps/quick-maps/index.htm
• APHA Health Equity - https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/health-equity
• RWFJ Health Equity https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/features/achieving-health-equity.html
• Addressing Racism as a Public Health Crisis with Dr. Mysheika Roberts and the YWCA - https://youtu.be/0Cy9Go19vVo
• PlaySpent Simulator - https://playspent.org/
• Cliff of Good Health Analogy Video - https://youtu.be/to7Yrl50iHI