Health and Wellness

Community Level Outcome: Residents of the Alleghany Highland’s will cultivate and practice a “Culture of Health”

To achieve this outcome, The Alleghany Foundation recognizes that social determinants are often directly linked to good health. These include access to health care, habits such as poor diet, inactivity, smoking and illicit drug use, and the level of educational attainment. We also recognize the importance of mental health. To cultivate a culture of health, the Foundation seeks to support initiatives that encourage healthy eating, encourage physical activity, ensure adequate access to health care and encourage mental/behavioral health. Strengthening a healthy community is a broad field, and additional ideas are welcomed.

Use of Data

For additional information about the social determinants of health, please view the presentation provided through the Appalachia Funders Network, by Dr. Randy Wykoff of East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health to learn more about factors affecting community health and wellness and economic vitality in the Central Appalachian region.

In addition, as part of defining the outcomes sought in a grant application, applicants for funding are encouraged to review available health statistics and describe in the application the level of change sought because of the work that is planned. These data should help provide indicators of success that the applicant seeks to target. Some relevant resources include the following:

County or City level data through the Virginia Health Opportunity Index: https://apps.vdh.virginia.gov/omhhe/hoi/what-is-the-hoi/definitions;
County or City level data collected through support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/virginia/2016/measure/factors/136/description;
Data about service availability levels: https://bhw.hrsa.gov/shortage-designation/muap-process