Trust For Americas Health

TRUST FOR AMERICAS HEALTH PROMOTES OPTIMAL HEALTH FOR EVERY PERSON AND COMMUNITY AND MAKES THE PREVENTION OF ILLNESS AND INJURY A NATIONAL PRIORITY.

IN 2021, TRUST FOR AMERICAS HEALTH (TFAH) CONTINUED TO ADVANCE ITS MISSION TO PROMOTE OPTIMAL HEALTH FOR EVERY PERSON AND COMMUNITY AND MAKE THE PREVENTION OF ILLNESS AND INJURY A NATIONAL PRIORITY. AS A NONPROFIT, NONPARTISAN PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY, RESEARCH, AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION, TFAH ENVISIONS A NATION THAT VALUES THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF ALL AND WHERE PREVENTION AND HEALTH EQUITY ARE FOUNDATIONAL TO POLICYMAKING AT ALL LEVELS OF SOCIETY. ACROSS THE RANGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES TFAH ADDRESSED, INCLUDING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS (INCLUDING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE), PUBLIC HEALTH FUNDING, OBESITY AND CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND SUICIDE, HEALTHY AGING, HEALTH EQUITY, SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, AND PREVENTION. TFAH PROMOTED PUBLIC HEALTH POLICIES THAT AFFECT THE ENTIRE NATION, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON HOW SUCH POLICIES AND PROGRAMS CAN PROMOTE HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES REGARDLESS OF GEOGRAPHY.TFAH MAINTAINS AND ENHANCES ITS WORK WITH PARTNERS ON HIGH-IMPACT HEALTH ISSUES. THROUGHOUT ITS EFFORTS, TFAH IS ALSO COMMITTED TO ADVANCING HEALTH EQUITY AND ADDRESSING THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, WHICH ARE THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE BORN, GROW, WORK, LIVE, AND AGE, INCLUDING THROUGH COLLABORATIVE, MULTISECTORAL APPROACHES. TFAHS WORK IS GUIDED BY VALUES OF EQUITY, INDEPENDENCE, EVIDENCE-BASED, TRUST, PARTNERSHIPS, INNOVATION, AND FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP.TFAHS PROJECTS FOCUSED ON ADVANCING AN EVIDENCE-BASED PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM THAT IS READY TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY. TFAH SUCCESSFULLY PUBLISHED EVIDENCE-BASED REPORTS; DEVELOPED AND ADVANCED EFFECTIVE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPROACHES; CONVENED LEARNING COLLABORATIVES; SPEARHEADED TARGETED INITIATIVES AND OUTREACH; COLLABORATED WITH PARTNERS AT THE NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS; AND PRODUCED EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES.AMONG TFAHS ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2021:TFAH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DE BEAUMONT FOUNDATION AND THE CDC FOUNDATION, EXPANDED THE WORK OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNICATIONS COLLABORATIVE (PHCC) TO SUPPORT STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS EXTERNAL MESSAGING AND STRENGTHEN THEIR COMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY BY HELPING PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS BE TIMELY, CLEAR, CREDIBLE, AND EFFECTIVE MESSENGERS. PHCCS PRODUCTS INCLUDED WEBINARS, AND VIA ITS WEBSITE, MESSAGING GUIDANCE, ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS, COVID-19 MISINFORMATION TRACKING, AND DOWNLOADABLE/SHAREABLE SOCIAL GRAPHICS. YEAR-END METRICS INCLUDE: 425K WEBSITE PAGE VIEWS; 32.8K EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS; 26.4K FILES DOWNLOADS; 23 TOOLKITS AND ONE-PAGERS CREATED; 117 ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS MATERIALS CREATED; AND 12 WEBINARS HOSTED WITH 8.5K TOTAL ATTENDEES.BUILDING OFF THE 2020 RELEASE OF THE POLICY BRIEF, BUILDING TRUST IN AND ACCESS TO A COVID-19 VACCINE WITHIN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND TRIBAL NATIONS, TFAH BECAME THE GO-TO LEADER ON THE TOPIC OF ADVANCING EQUITABLE ACCESS TO AND EARNING TRUST IN COVID-19 VACCINATION AMONG COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. TFAH PRESENTED THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE POLICY BRIEF TO MULTIPLE AUDIENCES INCLUDING THE NATIONAL VACCINE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (NVAC), A FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AT HHS, AND DURING THE ASSOCIATION OF MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH PROGRAMS (AMCHP) WEBINAR ENTITLED EARNING TRUST, BUILDING VACCINE CONFIDENCE: LEARNING FROM GLOBAL AND LOCAL INITIATIVES. TFAH PLANNED AND HOSTED A CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING ON PAIN IN THE NATION: HOW HIGH RATES OF SUICIDE, DRUGS AND OVERDOSE DEATHS REQUIRE A COMPREHENSIVE RESILIENCY STRATEGY, WITH A SPECIAL FEATURE ON RACIAL TRAUMA. OVER THE PAST DECADE MORE THAN ONE MILLION AMERICANS HAVE DIED FROM ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND SUICIDE AND THIS TREND HAS BEEN EXACERBATED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, A FRAGMENTED HEALTH SYSTEM, AND SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONDITIONS. THIS BRIEFING EXPLORED THESE ISSUES AND OFFERED POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF THESE DEATHS OF DESPAIR AND HOW WE CAN STRENGTHEN RESILIENCE AMONG INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES THAT ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED.TFAH CONTINUED TO PARTNER WITH THE JOHN A. HARTFORD FOUNDATION TO EXPAND THE AGE-FRIENDLY PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS (AFPHS) INITIATIVE. O THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH BECAME THE FIRST STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO BE RECOGNIZED AS AN AGE-FRIENDLY PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM (AFPHS) THROUGH TFAHS AFPHS RECOGNITION PROGRAM. LIKEWISE, THE SARASOTA, FLORIDA COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT (DOH-SARASOTA) BECAME THE FIRST LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT IN THE NATION TO ACHIEVE THIS RECOGNITION. O TFAH ALSO LAUNCHED A TRAINING SERIES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AS PART OF THE AFPHS RECOGNITION PROGRAM. MONTHLY TRAINING TOPICS INCLUDED UNDERSTANDING AND OVERCOMING AGEISM, HEALTH EQUITY AND ADDRESSING HEALTH DISPARITIES, IMPACTS OF SOCIAL ISOLATION AMONG OLDER ADULTS, AND HOW PUBLIC HEALTH CAN HELP TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE AND EQUITABLE HOUSING FOR OLDER ADULTS. O TFAH DEVELOPED AND PUBLISHED A POLICY BRIEF, ENSURING ACCESS TO COVID-19 VACCINES FOR OLDER ADULTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WHO ARE HOMEBOUND, WITH A SERIES OF NINE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICYMAKERS AT THE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS. THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE SHARED THROUGH MULTIPLE CHANNELS, INCLUDING CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND MEETINGS WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS. O TFAH CO-HOSTED WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) THE 2021 HEALTHY AGING SYMPOSIUM. THIS NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM, FRAMED AROUND THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, BROUGHT TOGETHER PUBLIC HEALTH, HEALTH CARE, AGING SERVICES, ACADEMIC AND MANY OTHER SECTORS TO LEARN ABOUT NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL INITIATIVES, PROGRAMS, AND POLICIES TO SUPPORT HEALTHY AGING. O TFAH LAUNCHED THE AFPHS.ORG WEBSITE (HTTPS://WWW.AFPHS.ORG). THE SITE IS DESIGNED TO BE AN INFORMATION AND COMMUNITY HUB FOR THE AGE-FRIENDLY PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITY.TFAH EXPANDED ITS WORK RELATED TO THE INTERACTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE, HEALTH, AND EQUITY THROUGH THE RELEASE OF A CASE STUDIES SERIES EXAMINING EFFORTS BY STATES AND LOCALITIES TO CONCEPTUALIZE AND IMPLEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PROGRAMS THAT ARE CENTERED ON EQUITY. TFAH WAS ALSO A PANELIST IN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SIDE EVENT AT THE UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE (COP26). THE EVENT ANNOUNCED NEW U.S. GOVERNMENT COMMITMENTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH EQUITY AND HIGHLIGHTED THE INEQUITIES EXPOSED DURING THE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC. TFAH ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PARTNERSHIP, CONVENED BY CDCS NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION.ADDITIONALLY, TFAH PUBLISHED AND DISSEMINATED THE FOLLOWING REPORT SERIES AND ISSUE BRIEFS:READY OR NOT 2021: PROTECTING THE PUBLICS HEALTH FROM DISEASES, DISASTERS, AND BIOTERRORISM. THE REPORT SERIES PROVIDES AN ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF STATES LEVEL OF READINESS TO RESPOND TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES AND RECOMMENDS POLICY ACTIONS TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONES HEALTH IS PROTECTED DURING SUCH EVENTS. THE IMPACT OF CHRONIC UNDERFUNDING ON AMERICAS PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM: TRENDS, RISKS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS, 2021. THIS REPORT DEMONSTRATES HOW CHRONIC UNDERFUNDING OF PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM WEAKENED THE COUNTRYS COVID-19 RESPONSE.LEVERAGING EVIDENCE-BASED POLICIES TO IMPROVE HEALTH, CONTROL COSTS, AND CREATE HEALTH EQUITY. THIS REPORT OUTLINES THE ROLE OF SOCIAL DETERMINANTS IN AMERICANS HEALTH AND CALLS FOR ADOPTION OF POLICIES TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES, CONTROL HEALTHCARE SPENDING, AND CREATE HEALTH EQUITY.ALIGNING PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS WITH OLDER ADULT HOUSING NEEDS AND CHALLENGES. THIS BRIEF OUTLINES CURRENT HOUSING CHALLENGES FACED BY OLDER ADULTS AND POTENTIAL AREAS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTION. STATE OF OBESITY 2021: BETTER POLICIES FOR A HEALTHIER AMERICA. THIS ANNUAL REPORT ON THE NATIONS OBESITY CRISIS FOUND THAT SIXTEEN STATES HAVE ADULT OBESITY RATES AT 35 PERCENT OR HIGHER, UP FROM 12 STATES IN 2019 AND THAT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS LINKED TO OBESITY WERE EXACERBATED BY THE COVID-19 PAND