Interorganizational Network Changes Among Health Organizations in the Brazos Valley, Texas

• DOI: 10.1007/s10935-010-0203-y
• Publication Date: 2010-02-02T03:47:59Z
• Authors: Monica L. Wendel; John D. Prochaska; Heather R. Clark; Shawta Sackett; Keith Perkins
• Keywords: Capacity Building; Social Problems; Health Status; 1. No poverty; Rural Health; Community Networks; Texas; Health Services Accessibility; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Interinstitutional Relations; 0302 clinical medicine; Models, Organizational; Organizational Case Studies; Humans; Social Change; Needs Assessment

Community health development is a process by which a community identifies factors influencing population health, assesses available resources to build the capacity to plan and take action, and implement interventions to address identified needs. At its core, community health development targets structural change and infrastructure development to facilitate more efficient and effective health service delivery systems and environmental changes to support improvements in community health. One indicator of structural change and common measure of community capacity is the relationships among the network of organizations that comprise that system. The Brazos Valley has employed a community health development approach to population health improvement in partnership with the Center for Community Health Development. Changes in interorganizational networks illustrate progress in the Brazos Valley. Contextual factors provide some insight into how the process has unfolded.