MPH NEWSLETTER VOL. 11
WE’RE HERE TO HELP WITH YOUR COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT & IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY / IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CHIP)
Hi there,
Yes, you read that right, it’s a special edition newsletter!
What better way to celebrate nearly one year of newsletters than to switch it up a bit? Don’t worry, we will bring our regular columns back next month! And if you follow us on social media, you probably already know why.
We have been VERY busy this month. From client work, to the American Public Health Association 2023 Annual Meeting & Expo, to our volunteer community health assessment work in Jamaica, we’ve literally been all over the map.
In this special edition newsletter, we will share more details about our travels this month and some of the things we’ve learned along the way. We hope you enjoy!
Stay healthy,
Your Moxley Public Health Team
PS. If you're reading this and you aren't receiving our newsletter via email, you're missing out! Each month we share USEFUL RESOURCES for public health practice with our email subscribers. Get on our list today! https://www.moxleypublichealth.com/blog-newsletter
Coming UP/IN THE NEWS
Because the end of year and holiday season is already busy enough, we look forward to announcing the date for our next Lunch and Learn, in January, very soon! We have not finalized a topic yet, so feel free to make a suggestion!
As if all of our Moxley Public Health work wasn’t enough this month… We also congratulated Allie, Senior Public Health Consultant, on being featured on her very first podcast “Public Health World” with Jamil Locker! Her career journey and innovative ideas to promote health equity inspire us every day.
APHA 2023
Our travels started off this month in Atlanta, GA! From November 12-14, Moxley Public Health participated in the American Public Health Association 2023 Annual Meeting & Expo and hosted our very own booth. It was such a treat and a whirlwind, and truly felt like a giant family reunion that included FINALLY getting to meet many of our awesome public health colleagues in person. The energy and passion at the Congress center was so invigorating! The educational sessions we attended were innovative and inspiring.
If you met us at the APHA and you’re new to the newsletter community, welcome and thanks for joining us! Don’t forget that all previous newsletter editions are available on our website and LinkedIn… But remember, only our email subscribers get the full version!
By far our favorite part was connecting with old friends, and making new ones. We loved the opportunity to share more about our fundraising efforts for our Jamaican Blue Mountains Project, do some fun giveaways, engage about evidence-based resources for community health, and talk all things needs assessments and improvement plans.
Check out our full reflection for more details.
Jamaican Blue Mountains Project
After the APHA 2023, it was on to the beautiful Blue Mountains of Jamaica for a week to get some on-the-ground work done for our volunteer Jamaican Blue Mountains Community Health Assessment & Improvement Project!
“Wow, it was an impactful trip and we learned so much from the community! While it might be physically exhausting and at times overwhelming observing the challenging living conditions and huge needs of this rural community, we are also (beyond words) energized by the pure reminder of how important a needs assessment is in a community to plan improvements.”
- Stephanie Moxley, Moxley Public Health CEO & Lead Consultant
By engaging with community members on the ground, our team learned important health needs and factors for consideration that otherwise would have never occurred to us. A needs assessment is a key agent in change to ensure that all factors are considered for community improvement and all voices are heard.
One of the exciting and very practical actions that we were able to take on this trip was to bring large suitcases FULL of basic medical supplies, toiletries, and contraception to the community with us. We were also able to fund a DELICIOUS community meal of jerk chicken, rice and peas, and cabbage and host a few “open bars” that served as the catalyst for conversations with community members. And SO MUCH MORE! This was all thanks to the generous contributions of our Moxley Public Health community, near and far. Thank you to all those who donated supplies, made a financial contribution to the project, or purchased a t-shirt and/or tote bag! Your contribution made a meaningful difference by providing immediate capacity to the community and by supporting our community engagement efforts.
A key health need we heard from residents over and over again during the trip was oral healthcare. The hundreds of donated toothbrushes and toothpaste were true gifts to the community. The basic medical supplies will be useful to Cheryl Horton, Community Health Worker (and friend to MPH!) as she continues her frontline work, and the community was truly thankful for these donations!
Our work on this project is just beginning! If you are interested in donating to the project, there are still opportunities to purchase fundraising merchandise (orders closing TODAY, November 30th at MIDNIGHT), donate towards supplies/community engagement activities, and donate cash. We have sent a box of goodies to the community that will be given out to the residents and children there at a few different holiday dinners that we are funding and are being coordinated by Cheryl (MPH’s friend and liaison there in the community).
While on our trip, we were also able to walk many community residents through the completion of a paper survey about their health and well-being. We also conducted in-person interviews with residents and leaders to learn about the community’s health priorities.
We found sharing a Red Stripe beer went a long way to build trust and rapport with community members (and even got a bit of bartending experience!).
We were also able to take some time during our trip to fully explore the stunning community sights, observe the existing resources and strengths of the community, as well as tour their healthcare facilities and talk to health professionals on the ground.
We mentioned the priority need for oral healthcare in the community already… One of the key things we learned on our trip is that this community has a fully equipped dental clinic, just NOT the professionals to staff it. The ability to bring health professionals to the area for routine health services in the community is an urgent need. Furthermore, mudslides and landslides are a continual risk that can block transportation up and down the mountain, presenting additional challenges to transportation. We know we will need to delve deeper into these issues as part of the project and to work together with the community on an informed improvement plan. Stay tuned!
Despite there being some internet available in the community, it is not available to everyone, everywhere, and recent weather conditions have also limited access.
Literacy levels are also low in the community. Due to these reasons, our team learned the importance of flexibility and that we will need to rely heavily on in-person data collection to complete the project, and there’s no better way to do that than through the power of conversations and listening to people!
You may have seen our LinkedIn post about our Community Empowerment Meeting, which included the delicious meal discussed above! This was a huge hit and was a great way to get community members interested in participating in the project.
Sharing a meal was really important to build community empowerment and foster participation in the project. In the near future, two holiday meals will be hosted at the end of December. Along with spreading some cheer this season, data collection efforts and support to hear from community members so that improvements can be made here will be continued!
What our team is thinking about this month…
Reflect and share your thoughts with us on our social media platforms below - we would love to hear from you!