About Us

The Center for Community Health is located in the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.  Our vision for the Center is to foster healthy, vibrant communities.  Through community partnerships, we conduct policy-relevant health research and enhance community capacity for prevention.  We desire to translate research into practice and policy, eliminate health disparities in the North Texas area, and create replicable models of change to improve population health in our nation.

 At the heart of every endeavor of the Center for Community Health is the concept of health equity through community empowerment.  Broadly defined, a community encompasses not only geographic areas, but also social, religious, political, and economic alliances.¹  It is through these alliances that members derive a sense of belonging from one or more shared characteristics. Empowerment is the ability of a community to gain control and generate positive changes in individual lives and their environments.¹  It is through community empowerment that we hope to sustain health equity for especially vulnerable populations.

References:
¹Martin, M., Kibler, J. & Wesson, T. (2006). Research Brief: Defining Community and Empowerment. The J. McDonald Williams Institute. Retrieved September 6, 2007, from http://www.thewilliamsinstitute.org/Portals/10/DefiningWhatWeDo/