Session Description The newly established Academic Health Collaborative at the Worcester Division of Public Health links local universities with the Division of Public Health in a collaborative partnership that bridges health/public health academia and practice to improve community health. It allows the DPH to leverage academic and community resources and expertise to help it achieve its goal to become the “Healthiest City in New England by 2020”. This innovative collaboration allows the DPH and local partners to train a future generation of students that can work and communicate across disciplines and settings. In addition, it provides structured practicum and internship experience for area college and university students that serves not only the needs of public health but enhances the learning experience for the student. So far, these experiences have been tailored to address priorities identified by the WDPH to support the Division’s Strategic Plan and CHIP are addressed and implemented.

The Greater Worcester Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) proposes a set of goals and objectives with the vision of Worcester being the healthiest city in New England by 2020. As a part of the plan, the Worcester Regional Youth Health Survey (RYHS) was conducted by the Worcester Division of Public Health during the 2013-2014 academic years. The RYHS allows the progress toward CHIP goals to be assessed, as well as the identification of additional areas for improvement. Findings will include the results of adolescent health behavior questions from the survey and those CHIP objectives that they inform, which include: healthy eating and active living, behavioral health, primary care and wellness, violence and injury prevention, and health equity and disparities. Progress towards meeting local CHIP goals will be framed by a comparison to national and state-wide data sets. A total of 8,703 youth participated in the survey from grades 9-12. The survey contained standardized questions that were taken from validated national surveys. The survey questions measured the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among youth and the community conditions which provide protective factors as well as the perceived behavioral standards.