Community Engagement

Public Health Systems are defined as a “complex network of individuals and organizations that have the potential to play critical roles in creating the conditions for health.” (Institute of Medicine, 2002. “The future of the public’s health in the 21 ^st Century.”) In rural and underserved communities particularly, public health services must often be supplemented with a wide range of nontraditional stakeholder groups within a community.

Bringing this often disparate group of leaders together requires engaging the community to build a network that has the capacity to plan, respond and recover from any disaster. The USA Center has pioneered a Rural Preparedness Roundtable as one approach to build and strengthen community networks, distinguish the broader nontraditional players, educate local decision makers, and facilitate a community-wide approach to address a specific preparedness issue. These local networks are designed to continue once our staff leaves and to empower local groups to take ownership, plan and problem solve with existing assets.