Primary Prevention in Tennessee
Primary Prevention Plans
Every county in Tennessee develops and carries out an annual Primary Prevention Plan. The plans provide both an opportunity and an implementation strategy for all staff in Tennessee’s local health departments to engage in primary prevention work. The Office of Primary Prevention facilitates the development of the plans and provides best practice recommendations and resources to assist counties with the implementation of their initiatives.
To learn more about the Primary Prevention Plans, email Matt Coleman at matthew.coleman@tn.gov.
The Primary Prevention Plans outline the self-identified responsibilities of each local health department in Tennessee for engaging in primary prevention work. The plans are developed annually and reflect local priorities identified through local assessments including County Health Assessments, and the resulting Community Health Improvement Plans that are developed and led by local county health councils. The Primary Prevention Plans are also informed by high-level strategic priorities developed by the state including the Tennessee Department of Health’s Strategic Plan and the State Health Plan.
Primary Prevention Plans Annual Report
The Primary Prevention Plans Annual Report provides an overview of initiatives and accomplishments of the plans across the state in order to highlight the important work that health department staff implement each year. Please click the images below to view the reports.
Primary Prevention Resources
Annual Primary Prevention Plan Resource Guide
Each year, the Office of Primary Prevention creates a resource guide that provides an overview to what primary prevention is, what meaningful primary prevention work is, how to make a clinical connection to population health, and how a local health department should complete their planning process. You can view the current resource guide by clicking on the cover photo of the guide.
Root Cause Analysis Toolkit
The Office of Primary Prevention developed the Root Cause Analysis Toolkit to aid health department staff and partners in identifying and addressing the social drivers of health outcomes. The toolkit is designed to incorporate upstream prevention and systems thinking into existing processes, or to help brainstorm more holistic and interconnected approaches to public health. The toolkit can be adapted easily for a variety of processes, and can be used in virtual, in-person, or hybrid settings.
The toolkit includes: 1) the exercise outline and visual templates, 2) a facilitator's guide, and 3) a PowerPoint slide deck for introducing the exercise.
Toolkit Materials
Root Cause Analysis Exercise Materials
Root Cause Analysis Facilitation Guide
Root Cause Analysis Presentation Slide Deck
TN Vitality Toolkit
The Tennessee Vitality Toolkit is a framework to help Tennessee County Health Councils strengthen community well-being as they transition from their County Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) process to collective impact and action.
The Toolkit lays out a menu of resources for nineteen priority areas that a Health Council might choose to focus on in their CHIP. This first launch of the toolkit includes these six priority areas: Community Resilience, Person-Centered Care, Positive Childhood Experiences, Civic Engagement, Substance Misuse Prevention, and Nutrition Security.
Click here to access the Toolkit
Tennessee's State Health Plan
The State Health Plan utilizes an overarching framework that offers a blueprint for improving the health of the people of Tennessee through the use of “upstream” primary prevention efforts. The framework not only directs the efforts of the Department at the state level but also allows organizations and engaged citizens across the state to align with TDH’s vision and priorities.
TN Diabetes Action Report | 2019
The State of Tennessee is diligently working toward a culture of health through statewide, regional, county, community and individual initiatives. This report provides an overview of the state of diabetes in Tennessee and the work specific to diabetes in the Bureau of TennCare, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), and the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration.