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The Community Guide in Action
Community Guide in Action stories feature decision makers, program planners, employers, and leaders from across the country who have used The Community Guide to make people safer and healthier.
Vaccination
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program, Identify/Apply for Funding
A Good Shot: Reaching Immunization Targets in Duval County
The Duval County Health Department in Jacksonville, Florida was challenged with low childhood immunization rates, particularly in its urban core. By implementing a quality improvement strategy that combined multiple Community Guide recommendations, they reached the national target within one year. (Released 2012)
Cancer
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Rural, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation
American Cancer Society and Community Health Centers Partner to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening
Two community health centers – one in South Central Texas and another in New Orleans – saw dramatic increases in colorectal cancer screening rates following implementation of CPSTF-recommended multicomponent interventions. The American Cancer Society partnered with these health centers to implement the interventions which combined approaches reviewed by the CPSTF and reduced structural barriers among underserved populations. (Released 2019)
Cancer
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Criminal Justice System, Rural, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Prepare for Accreditation
AMIGAS: Promoting Cervical Cancer Screening among Hispanic Women
The AMIGAS program engaged community health workers, or promotoras, to deliver a multicomponent intervention that doubled the rate of cervical cancer screening among Mexican-American women in Texas and Washington. Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations were used to inform the selection of program components which included one-on-one education and small media. (Released 2018)
Asthma, Diabetes, Tobacco, Vaccination
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Home, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Educate, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program, Identify/Apply for Funding
An Evidence-Based Approach to Montana's Health Landscape
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services turns to The Community Guide as a primary resource for program planning, funding applications, and partner collaboration, and has used Task Force findings to develop programs aimed at increasing vaccinations, reducing tobacco use, and controlling asthma. (Released 2012)
Cancer
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Black Corals: A Gem of Cancer Screening Program in South Carolina
In rural South Carolina the risk of cancer-related death is a complex public health problem. The St. James-Santee Family Health Center launched Black Corals to increase cancer screening among women. The Community Guide served as a resource to help the Black Corals program dramatically increase breast and cervical cancer screenings in their community. (Released 2012)
Adolescent Health, Cancer, Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Oral Health, Tobacco, Worksite Health
Setting
Business/Retail, Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Blueprint for Success in Reducing Tobacco Use
The City of Lincoln and Lancaster County, Nebraska used Community Guide recommendations to build a plan to lessen tobacco use. Their approach led to county-wide reductions in tobacco use, and led to the state's decision to model their smoking ban on the one developed by the City of Lincoln, and eventually, to monumental state-wide policy changes. (Released 2012)
Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program
BuchananCares Program: A Team-based Care Pilot led by a Rural Community Hospital and Local Pharmacist
A team of clinical health professionals from the Appalachian College of Pharmacy 
and Buchanan General Hospital in Virginia piloted a program, BuchananCares, using CPSTF recommendations and CDC resources, and helped to reduce hospital readmissions and improve medication use for patients with COPD, diabetes, heart failure, and pneumonia. (Released 2022)
Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Motor Vehicle Injury
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Develop Funding Application/Criteria for Evaluation, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Buckle Up Yurok
The California Rural Indian Health Board received a grant from CDC to develop a motor vehicle injury prevention program for the Yurok Tribe in California. The reservation saw increased child safety seat use each year after the program began. (Released 2015)
Cancer
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Fill Evidence Gap, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Help Community Understand Health Issues, Identify/Apply for Funding
Community Cancer Screening Program: Implementing Interventions to Address Disparities
The Cancer Coalition of South Georgia used recommendations from The Community Guide to reduce cancer-related disparities in a largely rural, medically underserved region in the state. The Community Cancer Screening Program™ started as a pilot program and now serves more than 25 counties in southern Georgia. (Released 2015)
Nutrition, Obesity, Physical Activity
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Rural, Urban
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP, Seek Funding, Strengthen Accreditation Application, Identify/Apply for Funding
Mobilizing Funding Support to Battle Overweight and Obesity
The Western Maryland Health System used a health strategy that systematically leveraged funding and partnerships as a way to reduce obesity in their region. They used The Community Guide as a resource to develop a strategy centered on behavioral, social, and environmental change, along with evidence-based approach to strengthen grant applications. (Released 2012)
Cancer, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Diabetes, Excessive Alcohol Consumption, Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Health Equity, Mental Health, Physical Activity, Tobacco, Vaccination, Violence, Worksite Health
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Rural
Use
Address Health Issue, Conduct CHA/Develop CHIP
Nebraska Panhandle Uses the Community Guide for Public Health Planning
While completing their community health assessments and developing a community health improvement plan, the Nebraska Panhandle Public Health District turned to The Community Guide. They referenced 28 different evidence-based Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommendations across 13 topic areas. The Nebraska Panhandle Public Health District also used Healthy People 2020 to set goals and objectives for improvement, matching them with CPSTF recommendations. (Released 2019)
Cancer, Health Communication and Health Information Technology
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Community, Recreation, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Help Community Understand Health Issues
New York: Increasing Cancer Screenings, Saving Lives
Cancer is one of the most common chronic diseases in New York, and is second only to heart disease as the leading cause of death. Each year, more than 100,000 New Yorkers are diagnosed. The New York State Department of Health Bureau of Cancer Prevention and Control coordinates multiple programs based on Task Force recommendations to increase the screening rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. Interventions include client reminders, small media, mass media, and programs to reduce structural barriers. (Released 2017)
Read the previous Community Guide in Action story, Screening New Yorkers to Save Lives 
[PDF - 453 kB], to learn more about the state’s efforts to increase cancer screenings.
Cancer, Worksite Health
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems, Rural, Urban, Workplace/Worksite
Use
Address Health Issue, Seek Funding, Enhance Public Health Quality Improvement Program, Identify/Apply for Funding
Practice What You Promote: Increasing Cancer Screening Rates Among Employees
The Michigan Cancer Consortium challenged its member organizations to increase cancer screening rates among their employees. A wide variety of organizations—large and small, rural and urban, hospitals and health departments, and trade organizations—were able to improve cancer screening rates by using Task Force findings. (Released 2015)
Diabetes, Health Communication and Health Information Technology
Setting
Clinical/Health Systems
Use
Address Health Issue, Educate, Prepare for Accreditation
Putting it all Together: Preventing Diabetes with Clinical and Community-Based Evidence
Of the eighty-six million Americans with prediabetes, nine out of 10 don’t know they have it. Prediabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The American Medical Association partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 to launch the national Prevent Diabetes STAT™ campaign to help manage prediabetes and its associated health risks. Using Task Force recommendations on evidence-based diabetes programs, Prevent Diabetes STAT™ aims to reduce the number of individuals with prediabetes who develop type 2 diabetes. (Released 2017)
Listen to an audio clip (7:21) of Drs. Christopher Holliday and Patrick Remington as they talk with CDC’s Dr. John Anderton about the development of the Prevent Diabetes STAT™ campaign and the benefits of drawing from evidence-based recommendations.
Download transcript [PDF - 170 kB]
