Healthy Communities, Healthy People Program

The Healthy Communities, Healthy People Program (HCHP) is a statewide network of community projects working to prevent chronic disease by making the healthy choice the easy choice. The HCHP Program operates within the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The overarching goal of the HCHP Program is to increase the percentage of adults who are at a healthy weight, as a means of reducing risk of chronic disease.

Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis are the leading causes of death and disability in Florida. Adopting healthy behaviors such as eating nutritious foods and being physically active can prevent or control the devastating effects of these chronic diseases. According to the 2009 Florida Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), 63.4 percent of adults are overweight, including 26.5 percent who are obese. Overweight is defined as a body mass index of 25.0 - 29.9 and obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30.0 and above. Since 1986, the prevalence of overweight has increased nearly 80% while the prevalence of obesity has doubled. Rapidly rising obesity levels indicate an impending epidemic of chronic diseases and related treatment costs that threaten to overwhelm the public and private sectors.

Adopting healthy behaviors such as eating nutritious foods, being physically active and avoiding tobacco use can help prevent or control the devastating effects of these diseases. For more information on data, visit Florida CHARTS and for more information on healthy weight and body mass index, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Healthy Communities, Healthy People Program provides funding to each of the county health departments to promote community policy and environmental strategies that complement and support individual and family efforts to make healthy choices. Examples of this include:

• Increasing access to and use of attractive and safe locations for physical activity
• Increasing healthy food choices in restaurants, grocery stores, work sites, and schools
• Increasing farmers markets and community gardens to provide fresh fruits and vegetables
• Increasing the availability of healthy eating and physical activity resources available through worksites and health care providers

Critical to the success of these efforts are partnerships with state and local health and education agencies, voluntary associations, faith-based settings, and other organizations. Together, the Department of Health and its partners are working to create a healthy Florida.

More About the Program

• Fact Sheet - PDF 15 KB
• Annual Report - PDF 2.0 MB

Success Stories

The following success stories record accomplishments that can be attributed to the Healthy Communities, Healthy People Program, and the concerted efforts of public and private organizations.

• Partnering To Fight Diabetes: Highlands County Health Department - PDF 38 KB
• Parish Nurses Promote Health: Lee County Health Department - PDF 38 KB
• Focusing on the Whole Picture of Health: Leon County Health Department - PDF 37 KB
• Worksite Wellness: Osceola County Health Department - PDF 36 KB
• Joint Use Agreement: Palm Beach County Health Department - PDF 36 KB
• Creating Walking Paths: Sarasota County Health Department - PDF 39 KB

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For more information on the Healthy Communities, Healthy People Program:

Mailing Address:

Florida Department of Health
Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (HSFCD)
Healthy Communities, Healthy People Program
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A18
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1744

Physical Address:

4025 Esplanade Way, Suite 130
Tallahassee, Florida

Telephone: (850) 245-4330
FAX: (850) 414-6625

Note: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

E-mail: HealthyCommunities@doh.state.fl.us

*Note: Materials are in the Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the files.