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Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant Funds Allow Recipients to Listen to Communities & Implement Relevant Programs A Click-Through Story





Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant funding offers recipients an opportunity to connect to and listen to their community members.


This fosters recipients’ ability to address community priorities that may be missed otherwise.

An illustrated animated speech bubble gif that says “the PHHS Block Grant…gives us funding to engage the members. I mean, without those funds some of that [engagement] would not be as frequent or not be at all just due to funding for hosting an event like that in a community.” An illustrated speech bubble gif that says “the PHHS Block Grant…gives us funding to engage the members. I mean, without those funds some of that [engagement] would not be as frequent or not be at all just due to funding for hosting an event like that in a community.”

—Personnel Responsible for PHHS Block Grant-Funded Program, 2023

Recipient Reflection

An illustrated animated speech bubble gif that says “A municipal government has a particular level of power, a community-based organization has a particular level of power, residents have particular levels of power, health systems have different levels of power, and it actually takes us all.” An illustrated speech bubble gif that says “A municipal government has a particular level of power, a community-based organization has a particular level of power, residents have particular levels of power, health systems have different levels of power, and it actually takes us all.”

—Personnel Responsible for PHHS Block Grant-Funded Program, 2023


One recipient is leveraging PHHS Block Grant funds to support the implementation of their state health improvement plan (SHIP).


The improvement plan is focused on community driven upstream efforts to eliminate health inequities and sustain the community’s health.


SHIP: a comprehensive, long-term strategy to address health issues identified in the State Health Assessment (SHA). Its purpose is to outline how the health department and the community will collaboratively improve the population’s health. The SHIP helps set priorities, allocate resources, and develop projects, programs, and policies. It involves significant participation from community stakeholders and partners, making it a community-driven and collaborative planning and implementation process.1

A photo of one set of hands reaching over a produce cart and handing a bag of produce to another set of hands.



To guide implementation of certain initiatives within the health improvement plan, the health department brought together representatives from several communities that historically experienced health inequities.


In particular, PHHS Block Grant funds have supported partnerships with federally recognized tribes and initiatives related to the public health infrastructure objectives within the Healthy People framework.2

An illustrated animated speech bubble gif that says “The thing that's so great is that so long as we're staying within those broad umbrella categories, we're able to come at things from multiple angles that is respectful of what the community is telling us… They know how to make this work way better than I could sitting in [city]... Some of the communities we fund are 700 miles away, so it only makes sense that we listen to them.” An illustrated animated speech bubble gif that says “The thing that's so great is that so long as we're staying within those broad umbrella categories, we're able to come at things from multiple angles that is respectful of what the community is telling us… They know how to make this work way better than I could sitting in [city]... Some of the communities we fund are 700 miles away, so it only makes sense that we listen to them.”

—PHHS Block Grant Coordinator, 2023

Recipient Reflections

An illustrated animated speech bubble gif that says “It's really important [to] reflect [on] the needs of the community and, yes, you want to rely on the evidence and mak[e] sure that there's a strong component of either the evidence and/or what you think...is going to work well, and that could be based on what the specific needs are of a specific community. I think that it's important to support [community requested] projects and really reflect the voices of what [we’re] hearing from the community and what the needs are.” An illustrated speech bubble that says “It's really important [to] reflect [on] the needs of the community and, yes, you want to rely on the evidence and mak[e] sure that there's a strong component of either the evidence and/or what you think...is going to work well, and that could be based on what the specific needs are of a specific community. I think that it's important to support [community requested] projects and really reflect the voices of what [we’re] hearing from the community and what the needs are.”

—PHHS Block Grant Coordinator, 2023





A gif of the state of Massachusetts entering the screen, followed by the words "Mass in Motion" emerging one at at a time A gif of the state of Massachusetts entering the screen, followed by the words "Mass in Motion" emerging one at at a time


Started in 2009, Mass in Motion is a statewide initiative led by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that empowers local agencies collaborating with community-based organizations to make policy and practice changes, fostering healthy eating and active lifestyles for residents.

Since 1988, there has been a noticeable decline in the proportion of adults engaging in exercise, sports, or lifestyle physical activities in America. However, this trend started to reverse in 2011, following the Healthy People 2020 objectives.3,4,5

Proportions of Individuals Reporting Vigorous-Intensity Physical Activity United States | 1988-2017

Line chart with 2 lines.
This line chart shows the proportions of individuals reporting vigorous-intensity physical activity most frequently over the previous month, from 1988 to 2017. There is a general trend in the data with some fluctuations.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Percentage of Population. Range: 0 to 30.
Created with Highcharts 9.1.0HP2020 begins​Number of Physical Activity ​Objectives doublesPercentage of PopulationProportions of Individuals Reporting Vigorous-Intensity Physical Activity ​United States | 1988-2017This line chart shows the proportions of individuals reporting vigorous-intensity physical activity most frequently over the previous month, from 1988 to 2017. There is a general trend in the data with some fluctuations.General PopulationRacial Minority Population1988199019921994199619982000200220042006200820102012201420160151821242730Source: Saint-Maurice PF, Staudenmayer J, Johannsen N, et al. ​Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity and Sedentary Time and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adults. J Phys Act Health. 2021;18(10):1181-1191.
End of interactive chart.


Predominantly funded by the PHHS Block Grant, the initiative engages and supports local communities through direct funding and technical assistance.


Examples of how Mass in Motion communities promote healthier choices include:6

Increasing access to fresh local foods through farmers markets and community gardens

Developing open spaces, safer parks, and playgrounds

Creating safe neighborhoods with sidewalks, bike lanes, and walkable paths


An image of an older Black woman and a young Black man smiling and jogging in an open park space.


Thanks for reading! An illustrated gif of a group of people with speech bubbles of different colors popping above each of their heads. An illustrated gif of a group of people with speech bubbles of different colors popping above each of their heads.

Footnotes

  1. ASTHO. “Developing a State Health Improvement Plan.” https://www.astho.org/topic/public-health-infrastructure/planning/developing-a-state-health-improvement-plan/.

  2. Learn more about Healthy People 2030 objectives here:

    https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data

  3. Saint-Maurice PF, Staudenmayer J, Johannsen N, et al. Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity and Sedentary Time and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adults. J Phys Act Health. 2021;18(10):1181-1191.  https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jpah/18/10/article-p1181.xml?content=fulltext

  4. CDC. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Questionnaire.  1988-2017. https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html

  5. CDC. Healthy People 2010 Final Review: Focus Area 22—Physical Activity and Fitness.  https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hpdata2010/hp2010_final_review_focus_area_22.pdf. 

  6. Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Municipal Wellness & Leadership Program Fact Sheet. https://www.mass.gov/doc/municipal-wellness-leadership-program-fact-sheet-0/download

Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant Funds Allow Recipients to Listen to Communities & Implement Relevant Programs A Click-Through Story

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  • How PHHS Block Grant Funds Address Emerging and Longstanding Recipient Priorities
  • Community Partnership
  • Recipient Reflection
  • Community Partnership via SHIP Development
  • Guidance from Communities that Have Historically Experienced Health Inequities
  • Recipient Reflection
  • Mass in Action
  • Context
  • Promoting Healthy Communities
  • Thanks!
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