GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goals of the Center for Community Health are to improve the health of all communities through interdisciplinary research, training, technical assistance, partnerships, and collaboration.

Objectives of the Center include:


• Achieve Healthy People 2010 goals of increasing quality and years of healthy life and eliminating health disparities.
  
  
• Conduct evidence-based outcome research with implications for developing a public policy agenda, future funding, and new initiatives to improve the health and quality of life.
  
  
• Foster interdisciplinary research from within UCSD departments such as Medicine, Anthropology, Sociology, Communication, Ethnic Studies, Human Development, Psychology, Public Policy, Music, Law, and Visual Arts and, cross-institutional collaborative research with other universities and colleges within the San Diego community.
  
  
• Decrease time between research and dissemination of best practices and models for use in local communities.
  
  
• Develop a training and consulting center of excellence that would provide data for the community to use in supporting or developing model legislation and, facilitate educational opportunities for health professional students to be involved in addressing community needs and interests.
  
  
• Serve as a clearinghouse of successful community programs, model legislation and public policy initiatives, training resources, funding opportunities and research databases for UCSD faculty, health professionals and the community.
  
  
• Provide opportunities for ongoing dialogue and interaction between UCSD faculty and local communities on how to best work together.
  
  
• Provide a local database on Healthy People 2010 leading health indicators such as physical activity, obesity, tobacco use, substance abuse, injury and violence, immunization, for policymakers at federal, state, and local government levels.