Getting Further Faster: Illuminating Opportunities for Health Departments to Support Community-Driven Social Determinants of Health Interventions

Since 1980, the Healthy People initiative has developed measurable 10-year objectives to guide and evaluate our nation’s efforts to improve the health and well-being of all people. Healthy People 2030 includes an overarching goal that focuses on social determinants of health (SDOH): “Create social, physical, and economic environments that promote attaining the full potential for health and well-being for all.” As we recover from an unprecedented pandemic, we have an opportunity to leverage recent investments in the US public health system to advance this national SDOH goal. Multisector community partnerships (MCPs) are a key component of the public health approach to addressing SDOH and promoting health equity. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) launched the Improving SDOH—Getting Further Faster (GFF) initiative, partnering with 42 established MCPs and RTI International to rapidly generate practice-based evidence that could inform and strengthen future community-driven SDOH interventions. GFF focuses on 5 SDOH domains with