Much of what influences our health occurs outside the doctor’s office. It makes a difference, for example, whether a person has enough food to eat, a safe place to live, reliable transportation, or a healthy way to handle stress.

There is increasing recognition that improving health outcomes and eliminating disparities requires building connections between the health care system and parts of patients’ communities that affect their well-being – institutions such as public health departments, social service agencies, schools and churches.

To support this work, the Health Disparities Institute at UConn Health and the Connecticut Health Foundation have published two policy briefs on best practices in connecting clinical care with community organizations.

Key Elements for Advancing Clinical-Community Integration, written by Health Disparities Institute Director Wizdom Powell, Ph.D., M.P.H., provides an overview of the work and recommendations for designing effective models. The brief notes that while clinical-community models hold great promise, making them work requires coordination among organizations that are not accustomed to communicating with one another and whose relationships are often marked by longstanding distrust and challenges in sharing power and information. The brief offers recommendations for those pursuing clinical-community integration programs, and highlights models from other states that embody each recommendation.

Clinical-Community Integration: The Role of Health Information Technology, written by Health Disparities Institute Associate Director Victor G. Villagra, M.D., focuses on the importance of systems that allow clinical and community providers to communicate and share information about their shared clients. The brief provides examples of promising models in other states – such as a Dallas computer network that links a hospital emergency department with homeless shelters, food pantries, and other organizations that serve many of the hospital’s frequent visitors. It also includes lessons learned that could be applicable in Connecticut.

“We know that a major part of what influences our health happens in our communities. Finding systemic and sustainable ways to link clinical care and communities is critical to improving health outcomes and reducing racial and ethnic health disparities,” said Patricia Baker, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation, the state’s largest independent health philanthropy dedicated to improving lives by changing health systems.

Baker adds: “It is our hope that this research can help guide efforts to link clinical care and communities in Connecticut and inspire organizations to embark on this work.”