Chronic Disease Prevention

Established in 1959, the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), now of the Public Health Institute, conducts and disseminates high-quality research on the epidemiology of alcohol consumption and problems, alcohol health services research, and alcohol policies while also training future generations of alcohol researchers. ARG is also home to the National Alcohol Research Center.

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The Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) is a nationally recognized leader in transforming public health practice to advance health equity to create healthier communities. It is a collaborative of public health directors, officers, senior managers and staff from the 11 San Francisco Bay Area health departments and the California Department of Public Health.

At BARHII, lessons learned are shared and strategies and resources developed; committees focus on data, community engagement, built environment, social determinants of health, structural racism and building health departments’ capacity.

Learn about Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative projects

Berkeley Media Studies Group works with community groups, journalists and public health professionals to use the power of the media to advance healthy public policy. To do this, BMSG conducts research to understand how news, entertainment and advertising portray health and social issues. Through media advocacy training and consultation, BMSG helps advocates harness lessons from that research and develop the skills they need to become stronger voices in policy debate and illuminate the need for improving the places where all people live, learn, work and play.

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Founded in 1982, C/NET Solutions develops cancer registry software that provides quality data collection, and powerful, reliable, user-friendly abstracting and reporting. C/NET Solutions first distributed its cancer registry software to hospitals in California, then to over 800 facilities across the country through the American College of Surgeons. In 1992 C/NET Solutions launched C/NET, a network-ready software, and began selling it to hospitals and other facilities outside California. CNExT for Windows now serves over 350 cancer registries in over 25 states and provinces across North America.

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CA4Health is a 5-year Community Transformation Grant from the CDC focused on reducing the burden of chronic disease in rural communities throughout California. A collaboration between PHI and the California Department of Public Health, CA4Health provides local county partners with tools, training and guidance to make their communities healthier.  CA4Health’s 4 strategic directions are reducing consumption of sugary beverages, increasing availability of smoke-free housing, creating safe routes to schools, and providing people with chronic disease with skills and resources to manage their illness.

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The California Adolescent Health Collaborative (CAHC) is a public-private statewide coalition with the goal of increasing understanding and support for adolescent health and wellness in California. As a coalition of representatives from public and private agencies, CAHC is committed to a comprehensive, assets-based, multidisciplinary approach to improving the health and well-being of California youth.

Learn about California Adolescent Health Collaborative projects

The California Center for Research on Women and Families (CCRWF), established in November 2000, is the sponsor of the California Working Families Policy Summit and also publishes policy primers to educate policymakers, program providers, and the general public about policy issues affecting women and families in California. CCRWF also directed the CalWORKs/Child Welfare Partnership Project, Linkages.

Learn about California Center for Research on Women and Families projects

The California Convergence is a regionally organized, statewide network that unites community leaders and partners to collectively build equitable, safe and healthy communities where everyone participates and prospers.  Convergence is governed and guided by a statewide, community-led steering committee, with administrative, communication, policy and evaluation-related support from PHI’s California Convergence Coordinating Office and statewide partners.

Learn about California Convergence Coordinating Office projects

OHSEP, a program of the Occupational Health Branch of the California Department of Public Health, tracks work-related injuries and diseases, studies workplace exposures and health effects, and makes prevention recommendations to employers and employees. OHSEP information is used to improve workplace Injury and Illness Prevention Programs and help identify and treat early work-related injuries and disease. OHSEP focuses on work-related asthma, fatal occupational incidents, pesticide poisoning and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Learn about California Occupational Health Surveillance and Evaluation Program (OHSEP) projects

California Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition) is a joint program of the California Department of Public Health and PHI. It works to advance nutrition and physical activity policy in schools and communities to prevent obesity and associated chronic diseases. Efforts center on youth and parent empowerment approaches, policy and environmental change strategies, and community-based solutions that improve nutrition and physical activity environments primarily in low-resource, high-need communities.

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CAN-Act (the California Association of Nutrition & Activity Programs) supports healthy eating and active living in California by providing leadership, provider and community empowerment, and vigorous advocating in support of effective state and federally funded nutrition education and promotion programs. CAN-Act members are organizations funded by the Network for a Healthy California and others who share our vision that all communities should have easy access to affordable, health-promoting food and physical activity opportunities. CAN-Act programming includes advocacy, training, ongoing technical assistance, planning process facilitation, and convening stakeholders to influence change.

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PHI assists the California Department of Public Health, Cancer Surveillance and Research Branch with the administration of the California Cancer Registry for California Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7/10. These regions comprise the Cancer Registry of Greater California (CRGC) and geographically cover the entire state except for Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast regions.  Registry operations include collecting, processing and compiling cancer data.  PHI also uses the data to support regional cancer surveillance and cancer control activities.

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The Center for Civic Partnerships (CCP) provides leadership and management support to build healthier communities and more effective nonprofit organizations. CCP provides training, technical assistance, and tools, and is the home of the California Healthy Cities and Communities Network which promotes positive physical, social and economic community environments that support the well-being of community members.

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CITPH promotes improved quality of health care, reductions in costs, and improved access to public health services through technology-enabled health solutions.  CITPH is engaged in research, demonstrations, program evaluation, and dissemination of its findings for practice improvement and informing public policy.  CITPH studies and evaluates patient-centered, technology-enabled health care innovations that improve population health, represent cost-effective solutions in low resource settings, and can be deployed on a large scale to drive real systems change. 

Learn about Center for Innovation and Technology in Public Health projects

In Asia, the two largest consumers of tobacco are China and Indonesia, together representing 412 million smokers. The Center for International Tobacco Control (CITC) was established in 2006 to conduct research studies and programs to address the tobacco problem in these two countries. CITC promotes effective tobacco tax policy and tobacco policy alternatives; works on tobacco farming issues and crop substitution; promotes public education around tobacco; promotes smoke-free environments; and trains local tobacco control researchers.

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The Center on Disability at the Public Health Institute is dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities with a focus on disability policy, civil rights, disability law, employment, health issues, independent living, and assistive technology. The Center on Disability is composed of disability-related projects with expertise in research, technical assistance, training and information dissemination.

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The Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program (CCROPP) is a model program utilizing a policy and environmental change approach to help community members gain access to healthy food, beverages and safe spaces to be physically active. Central to CCROPP's work is a leadership training program (Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Leadership Program), in which local residents gain the critical skills and tools to take on leadership roles and help to create healthier communities.

Learn about Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program projects

Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS) investigates how health and disease are passed on between generations--not only genetically, but also through social, personal and environmental surroundings. Nearly 50 years ago, CHDS enrolled over 15,000 families during the mothers' early pregnancy. Families participated in comprehensive interviews about their health, lifestyle and experiences. Follow-up studies CHDS children, now adults, and on their children, enable CHDS scientists to study health across generations and seek ways to prevent disease early in life.

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The Pacific ADA Center (Pacific Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center - DBTAC) works to build a partnership between the disability and business communities and to promote full and unrestricted participation in society for persons with disabilities through education and technical assistance.

Learn about DBTAC: Pacific ADA Center projects

The Health in All Policies Task Force is a collaborative project between the Public Health Institute, the California Department of Public Health, and the California Strategic Growth Council. Health in All Policies is a collaborative approach to improving population health by incorporating health considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy areas. HiAP is an innovative response to increasingly siloed government structures, rising healthcare costs, growing inequities, and growing awareness of the impact of the social determinants of health.

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Using a multi-dimensional emphasis that encompasses geographical, age, gender, socio-economic status, and race and ethnicity categories, the Health Spectrum Program provides issue and policy analysis and reporting; project/program and policy evaluation; training; technical assistance for statewide disease prevention and other health initiatives; and capacity building. The Health Spectrum Program focuses on children's health; health disparities; chronic disease prevention; wellness for leaders and decision-makers; and tobacco-free hospital campuses and patient treatment policies.

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PHI partners with the California Department of Public Health to implement the Network for a Healthy California (Network), the largest and most diverse nutrition and physical activity initiative in the country. Since 1997, PHI has been an integral part in creating innovative Network partnerships that empower low-income Californians to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity and food security with the goal of preventing obesity and other related chronic diseases.   

Learn about Network for a Healthy California projects

The Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP) program is a collaborative that promotes strategies for reducing asthma through a broad and comprehensive approach that includes clinical management and environmental protection. RAMP brings together diverse partners such as public health and community-based organizations, schools, medical providers, and environmental health and justice groups to join forces in reducing the burden of asthma with a focus on communities inequitably affected by the disease.

Learn about Regional Asthma Management and Prevention Program projects

The Survey Research Group (SRG) specializes in conducting population based health-related surveys, using one of the most technologically advanced call centers in the country. Since 1987, public health officials, advocates and researchers use the data for a variety of purposes: tracking health risks, identifying emerging problems, improving treatment, and evaluating programs. SRG’s mission is to foster health, well-being, and quality of life through rigorous quantitative and qualitative research guided by the principles of equity in health, environment, education and economic context.

Learn about Survey Research Group projects