CHEMICAL HEALTH
Building a Chemical Health Promotion Team
If a coalition does not exist in your community, steps need to be taken to create an effective one. The first step involves identifying community leaders to determine what they believe to be the major health problems and to also identify what resources are available.
Involving Community Leaders and Identifying Opinion Leaders (PDF: 7 KB 1 page) may be helpful in determining who should be on a coalition in your community. It will be important to identify opinion leaders and groups in the community who are concerned about chemical health. You may want to tailor your questions to determine who they are.
When attempting to identify opinion leaders in communities of color or other special groups, be certain to make the effort to really talk to members of these communities. Communities of color and other special groups must provide direct input into decision-making and identify their own community leaders, if their unique perspectives and skills are to be successfully utilized by the coalition. Too often members of the majority population identify leaders of communities of color and other special groups that are not viewed as leaders in the minds of the people of those communities.
In building a community coalition to promote chemical health, it is necessary to recruit members who are knowledgeable about the subject. Be sure to include people who focus on prevention as well as treatment and diagnosis. It is also important to recruit people representing various organizations, populations, groups and fields for the coalition.
Have We Left Anyone Out? (PDF: 9 KB 1 page) provides a matrix to help you consider how representative your coalition is.
For existing coalitions that are already addressing chemical health promotion in your community, it is important to periodically assess their work. On a regular basis coalition members need to take a look at the coalition and determine how effective it is.
Will the Coalition Be Here Tomorrow?
(PDF: 10 KB 3 pages) can help you assess the coalition. In addition,
you might want to consider adding questions to the coalition assessment
worksheet that explore existing coalition members' beliefs about and understanding
of "primary prevention" (prevention of chemical use problems,
rather than treatment after they have occurred). A primary prevention
focus for program development is key to successfully conducting chemical
health promotion in a community.
Chemical Health Community Health Promotion Guide Main Page
Community Health Promotion Guide Main Page
See also > Center for Health Promotion > Health Promotion and Chronic Disease