Editorial Policy
Introduction
The Healthy Community Alliance website is an online resource through which community members and policy makers can learn about community health and wellbeing. It provides balanced information on topics including local health, promising best practices, news, and community events.
These editorial guidelines describe the site’s governing body, how content is selected and managed, and major features of the site.
The Healthy Community Alliance and its supporting organization Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital sets website policies and makes decisions about the content of the website. The Healthy Community Alliance was formed by a cross section of community organizations and individuals who are concerned about the rising rates of chronic disease in Delaware and Blackford Counties. The Alliance consists of a steering committee, partner members, and workgroups focused on three priority areas plus a measurement and communication workgroup. Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital provides project management and other resources for Alliance activities. The project manager and website administrator of the Healthy Community Alliance is John D. Disher, East Central Region Community Outreach Manager for Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
Advertising Policy
No advertising is permitted on this website and none of its content represents a political endorsement by the Healthy Community Alliance or any of its sponsors.
The Healthy Communities Institute indicator system provides easy access to information on community health and wellbeing in in eight topic areas. The primary aims of the indicator system are to inform and facilitate positive change in our community by supporting priority-setting, decision-making, and coordination. Core indicator data found on this site are collected and reported by state and federal sources. The Healthy Communities Institute, which provides the core site content, updates indicators soon after they are updated by their respective data sources. The frequency and timing of the updates varies with the source.
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Validated methodology for data collection and analysis
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Publicly available through known and respected sources
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Regular, scheduled publication of findings
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Focus on data values for small geographic areas, such as counties and zip codes that are available for all county-level locations in the state or in the U.S
Read more about community indicators and comparisons.
Promising Practices
The purpose of the Promising Practices database is to inform professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life. The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. This database contains more than 2,000 promising practices, programs, and interventions and is a national resource created and maintained by the Healthy Communities Institute. The sources include health departments, federal agencies, universities, and community organizations (not individuals without an organizational affiliation). HCI ranks the practices as either “evidence-based,” “effective,” or “good ideas.”
Local communities have the opportunity to submit their own promising practices. The interventions suggested for inclusion must be community-focused and related to local community health and wellbeing and must meet the HCI standards noted above (evidence-based, effective, or a good idea).
Read more about guidelines for submitting a promising practice.
Funding Opportunities
Healthy Communities Institute provides a list of national funding opportunities to help you identify funding sources to improve the health and wellbeing of your community. Funding opportunities are organized topically and include both government and foundation funding opportunities. Funding opportunities are added to the list on a regular basis and automatically removed when they expire.
Reports
The Report Center contains reports and studies by reliable sources on a variety of topic areas. Community members may submit reports for the Healthy Community Alliance to consider for possible posting to the website. The reports should focus on community health issues and activities related to the Healthy Community Alliance's 3 focus areas- increased physical activity, improved nutrition and tobacco cessation, and be clearly written and grounded in careful research and analysis.
News, Feature Articles and Other Homepage Content
Content on the homepage includes feature articles; important health news in our area, the state, and the nation; and featured content designed to deepen understanding of community health issues and activities related to the Healthy Community Alliance's 3 focus areas- increased physical activity, improved nutrition and tobacco cessation. The stories posted on the homepage are maintained by the site administrator in consultation with the Healthy Community Alliance and its supporting organization Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital.
Community Calendar
The event calendar provides a comprehensive clearinghouse for information on local events designed to enhance wellbeing. It is maintained by the site administrator, in consultation with the Healthy Community Alliance.Submissions for consideration will be evaluated on a case by case basis by the site administrator based on relevance to the Healthy Community Alliance's 3 focus areas- increased physical activity, improved nutrition and tobacco cessation.