Abstract
In response to the need for population-based strategies for health promotion, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been conducting “The Planned Approach to Community Health” (PATCH) since 1984. PATCH is a demonstration process to strengthen the collective capacities of states and communities to plan and deliver community health promotion programs targeted at community-determined priorities. Drawing upon lessons learned from mobilizing citizens in an upstate New York population of 9000 households, the five elements of the PATCH process: 1) coalition building, 2) data collection, 3) problem specification and priority setting, 4) intervention planning and implementation, and 5) evaluation, are illustrated.
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