Community
Community is more than a setting to us. We take pride in touching all 254 counties in Texas through either community partnerships, prevention programs, research or volunteer programs.Engaging Community Partners
CCHA was created through a merger of two highly successful research centers at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. CCHA works to increase the capacity of communities to improve population health utilizing a community health development approach. Research focuses on evidenced-based programs, healthy aging and technology.
A chance to meet, learn, and network with real world Public Health Professionals without having to pay anything! PHield Trips are designed to provide any SPH student the experience of meeting with and hearing from practitioners in the public health arena.
The Departments of Environmental Health and Safety has cultivated strong industry partnerships, with leaders from various industries serving on the Industrial Advisory Board ensuring faculty are aware of the training students need in an ever-changing competitive workforce.
Prevention & Intervention
The NCHWTC is a Department of State Health Services certified Community Health Worker (CHW) training center that provides CHW and CHW Instructor certifications and continuing education units in-person and online, in English and Spanish. As a component of the Center for Community Health Development, the training center focuses on community capacity building through training well-equipped CHWs and promotores. Available training topics include cancer prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship, tobacco cessation, fall prevention, and diabetes prevention.
Dr. Brian Colwell and his research partners have developed an intervention used in virtually every Texas county over the past decade targeting tobacco cessation among adolescents. Originally designed as a voluntary program, the curriculum was modified to accommodate a Texas law passed in 1997 that required youth caught in possession of tobacco products to complete a mandatory tobacco awareness program.
Research
The SRHRC is one of only nine federally funded research centers by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The center focuses on conducting policy relevant research on meeting the needs of special rural populations, minority populations and health disparities (including border populations), and rural systems building.
RCI research focuses on the health effects from the nexus of hazardous substance exposure, environmental conditions, and natural and anthropogenic hazards within vulnerable communities. Community members are included throughout the life of most of RCI research projects, strengthening both the research findings and community awareness and resilience around environmental issues.
Some communities lack bike lanes, sidewalks and other infrastructure needed to encourage safe outdoor exercise. Improving the built environment in these communities should improve physical activity among residents, leading to improved health.
Volunteerism
EpiAssist is a student volunteer group that provides students with the opportunity to gain applied public health experience by assisting in Texas with outbreak investigations, disasters and emergencies, community health assessments, and other projects. To date, they have over logged 4,000+ hours in service to the state of Texas.
Students work with the school’s Health and Wellness Committee to enhance the health and wellness of the faculty, staff and students. Ambassadors represent the committee at research, recruiting, outreach and interprofessional education events.
The Public Health Scholars program rewards public health students for what they are already doing outside the classroom. The Public Health Scholars Program awards qualifying students with a bronze, silver, or gold medal for their achievements. The level of medallion awarded is based on total points earned through the student’s time at the School of Public Health.
