KU Center for Community Health and Development

Photo of a crowd of protestors holding a sign saying "I have the same dream," with a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr., on it.

The Justice Action Toolkit can be used for taking action to address systemic racism and gender equity. Learn more.

Image of a map of Africa with the text "WHO + KU. COVID-19 monitoring across America."

Center researchers lead effort to monitor and evaluate COVID-19 response in 47 African countries. Read more.

Image from the new Latino Health for All video on YouTube.

The Latino Health for All Coalition celebrates a decade of impact. Watch video.

Image of man serving lunch to kids in school cafeteria.

Largest study of its kind gauges community efforts to combat childhood obesity: Groundbreaking publications have emerged from KU Center for Community Health and Development researchers’ study of 9,000 programs and policies from 130 communities across the nation to assess their effectiveness. Read more.

Image of Steve Fawcett represented KU’s WHO Collaborating Centre at the Regional Meeting of Mayors from Healthy Municipalities in the Americas, held in Santiago de Cuba on 6-7 November 2018. Pictured with Dr. Gerry Eijkemans, Director, and Micaela Pereira, Consultant, Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health Unit of the Pan American Health Organization.

Steve Fawcett represented KU’s WHO Collaborating Centre at the Regional Meeting of Mayors from Healthy Municipalities in the Americas, held in Santiago de Cuba on 6-7 November 2018. Pictured with Dr. Gerry Eijkemans, Director, and Micaela Pereira, Consultant, Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health Unit of the Pan American Health Organization.

Photo of team members Dr. Jomella Watson-Thompson, Dola Gabriel, Nadia Jessop, and Courtney Moore from the Community Youth Development & Prevention Team.

Kansas City Youth Violence Prevention Project featured on KCUR "Up to Date" radio program. Listen here. Pictured here: team members Dr. Jomella Watson-Thompson, Dola Gabriel, Nadia Jessop, and Courtney Moore. Read more.

We offer online documentation and evaluation services. Find out more.

Our mission: supporting community health and development through collaborative research and evaluation, teaching and training, and technical support and capacity building.

Since 2004, our center has been continually designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Community Health and Development.

Recent Highlights:

KU Researchers Develop New Toolkit for Social Justice Action

The Justice Action Toolkit distills the helpful resources from the Community Tool Box for those seeking to create social change. Step-by-step guidance is provided for direct action techniques and effective advocacy, including registering voters, working with elected officials, organizing demonstrations, digital advocacy using social media, and taking action on systemic racism. Read more.

Dr. Jomella Watson-Thompson is the featured guest on American Public Square at Jewell's "Both Sides."

Dr. Watson-Thompson discusses Thryve, a community-level approach to preventing youth violence. Dr. Thompson is the principal investigator for Thryve, whose goal is to improve youth outcomes by coordinating community and system-level efforts to address risk and protection factors. Listen here.

Researchers Join with Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health to Monitor and Evaluate COVID-19 Response

Our center is partnering with Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and other community organizations to evaluate the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CCHD team is leading systematic documentation of policy, systems, and environmental changes meant to combat the spread of coronavirus in the county. Read more.

KU Researchers Lead Effort to Monitor, Evaluate COVID-19 Response in 47 African Countries

The project — in partnership with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa — is led by the CCHD, a designated WHO Collaborating Centre since 2004. The monitoring system is designed to capture and communicate COVID-19 response activities, such as programs and policies related to infection-control and risk communication, to help eliminate transmission of the disease. Read more.

Development of the Coronavirus Response Tool Box

The center’s Community Tool Box team has compiled useful tools from authoritative sources, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Community Tool Box. Inspiring community stories are added each week. Please feel free to share links to your inspiring community stories of taking action. Learn more.

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