STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
The Partnership for Healthy Communities is engaged in over 40 strategic initiatives with various degrees of involvement to support local and national partnerships, ranging from alignment via board and committee memberships, to engagement in campus-community partnerships around multi-sector, coordinated efforts to impact social and environmental factors that promote well-being. The university as a whole collaborates with organizations both locally and globally.
University of Delaware Master’s in Public Health
The University of Delaware’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program is an interdisciplinary
Program that combines faculty and resources from across multiple departments and colleges and focuses on preparing students for careers in both applied and research settings. The MPH program contributes to advancement and innovation in public health through actionable research, collaborative inter-professional education, and community-engaged service through:
- Expanding student capacity to understand, integrate, and use public health tools and methods in applied public health careers through engaging and innovative learning environments;
- Conducting interdisciplinary research that contributes to reducing health disparities and improving the lives of individuals in resource-constrained communities; and,
- Engaging in partnerships and collaborations to meet critical public health challenges.
The University of Delaware MPH program offers two concentration areas: Epidemiology and Health Policy and Management. The MPH in Epidemiology is housed within the Epidemiology Program in the College of Health Sciences. The MPH in Health Policy and Management resides within the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration.
Delaware SHIP
The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), Division of Public Health (DPH) engages with stakeholders, the community, and partners across the state to assess the health needs of Delawareans and to develop and implement a State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). Delaware’s State Health Improvement Planning (SHIP) goal is to work collaboratively with all communities and sectors to create a healthy and thriving Delaware.
The SHIP team collects information from stakeholders through studies, reports, meeting minutes, and stakeholder-specific community health need assessments and plans. Through these efforts, along with SHIP stakeholder meetings, webinars, digital communications, SHIP spotlights, relationship-building, outreach, and engagement, the SHIP Team works to bring many voices to the helm to guide and direct Delaware’s SHIP.
Delaware SHIP Priorities are:
- Chronic Disease
- Maternal & Child Health
- Substance Use Disorder
- Mental Health
- Policies, Systems, & Environments
- Social Determinants of Health
- Health in All Policies
- Social Marketing
HEALTH for All
HEALTH for All began in 2021 and was built on the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from a previous pilot launched the year before. With the COVID-19 pandemic arriving within weeks of the pilot launch, the pilot experience taught us a great deal about being nimble and working with community and campus partners to be innovative and collaborative in making education and outreach initiatives accessible and meaningful for all involved. As a result, the new program embraces more opportunities for virtual programming while also working with community partners to tailor on-site offerings that complement and strengthen their approach to outreach and services in the light of the pandemic.
HEALTH for All focuses on Health, Engagement, Access, Learning, Teaching, and Humanity in the Delaware community to establish a replicable academic-community service model that provides:
- Workforce development opportunities
- Hands-on experience in population health for undergraduate and graduate students
- Expands street-level physical and mental health care
- Addresses social determinants of health through new and innovative programs
- Promotes health and wellness in the workplace, educational, and community settings
- Provides an opportunity for data collection and research to evaluate and improve these efforts continuously
Healthy Communities Delaware
We work on community-driven priorities around the vital conditions (social determinants of health)—conditions into which we are born, grow, live, learn, work and play that affect our health. We use a collaborative, place-based approach with the goal of collective impact.
Every Delawarean should have the basics needed to live a healthy life – safe and healthy homes, a quality education, meaningful employment, a healthy environment, access to healthy foods, financial stability, and reliable transportation. Yet far too many people are limited by where we live, the amount of money we make, or discrimination we face. Together, we can break down these barriers to give every Delawarean a fair and just opportunity to reach their full potential.
UD Partnership for Health Communities
Tower at STAR, University of Delaware
100 Discovery Blvd
Newark, DE 19713
Suite 614
Email: phc-info@udel.edu