About
Health frames every aspect of society and has a direct economic impact on our community. Live HealthSmart Alabama works hand-in-hand with community members and more than 100 trusted partners to make good health simple.
On this pageWhy we do it How we do it What we've doneWhat's next
WHY WE DO IT Alabama’s Health Challenge
When it comes to health indicators, Alabama ranks among the lowest in the U.S. In Alabama, 67% of people are living with a chronic disease—that’s almost 7 out of every 10 people you know. 23,000 lives could be saved each year through better prevention and treatment of these diseases.
Rankings
| Metric | US Ranking |
|---|---|
| Cardiovascular Deaths | 49 |
| Obesity | 46 |
| Heart Attack | 46 |
| Stroke | 49 |
| Diabetes | 48 |
| Vegetable Consumption | 49 |
| Fruit Consumption | 48 |
| Physical Inactivity | 45 |
Ranking source: America’s Health Rankings (United Health Foundation)
How we do itSupporting Healthy Choices
Our daily lives are framed by policies, systems, and environments (PSE), which can either support or limit healthy choices. At Live HealthSmart Alabama, we are implementing changes to remove barriers to making healthy choices. With a specific focus on reducing those barriers in education, good nutrition, physical activity, and prevention & wellness, Live HealthSmart Alabama is making it easier to make healthy choices. Choose one of the items below to learn more.
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Goal: Increase the access and availability of programs and services that promote literacy
- K-3 Reading Program
- Adult Literacy
- Lunch & Learns
- Financial Literacy
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Goal: Enhance prevention and wellness
- Increase health screening access through Mobile Wellness events, Workplace Wellness, and Community Health Coaches
- Offer wellness education
- Provide diabetes counseling and diabetes prevention programming
- Established a smoke-free health district in Birmingham
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Goal: Make physical activity more accessible
- Increase access to programs and services such as Exercise is Medicine and Parks Rx
- Offer health coaching and counseling
- Provide neighborhood walking clubs
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Goal: Increase access to nutritious food
- Increase healthy food options through a Mobile Market, community gardens, teaching farms, and a corner market partnership
- Offer food insecurity screening and nutrition education through K-12 healthy eating education, nutrition and diet counseling, cooking demonstrations, and shared recipes
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Grassroots efforts, Mandates for change in systems, Includes legislative advocacy, fiscal measures, and regulatory oversight
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Institutions, healthcare systems, faith-based, schools (changes in food purchases, focus on PE, changes to curriculum), universities and colleges – food distribution systems, USDA, Involves change made to how services are delivered within an organization
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Changes made to the physical, social, and cultural environments
What we've doneStrategies in Action
Revitalization efforts in neighborhoods including improvements in the built environment, a Mobile Market that provides access to healthy food options, cooking demonstrations, and healthy, easy recipes, a Mobile Wellness program that focuses on providing age appropriate health screenings and connection to appropriate health care, community coaches who connect neighborhood residents to resources that impact their health and wellbeing are all ways our team is working to bring strategies—founded on decades of research—to life.
What's nextLive HealthSmart Alabama at UAB
Live HealthSmart Alabama is moving UAB forward as a Health Promoting University by implementing its signature keys of Good Nutrition, Physical Activity, Education, and Prevention & Wellness across the institution—working synergistically to achieve the goals of the Okanagan Charter.
Helping More Communities
Live HealthSmart Alabama’s impact is not only driven by our partners, but the communities and people who live, work, and play in our demonstration areas.
If you’re interested in implementing the Live HealthSmart Alabama program, please contact us for more information. Communities who choose to implement our program will receive a community readiness questionnaire and the Live HealthSmart Alabama Playbook.
Community Readiness Questionnaire
Live HealthSmart Alabama meets people where they are, evolves how communities interact with their environments, and removes barriers to good health at a systemic level. Building on our successes in our demonstration communities, Live HealthSmart Alabama is expanding across the state. This assessment is a first-step tool to determine the community’s readiness to implement the Live HealthSmart Alabama steps that comprise the Playbook.
If you believe your community is ready, let’s talk.
The Playbook
The Live HealthSmart Alabama Playbook will guide your community in planning and implementing initiatives that positively impact health. Our team will provide technical assistance and support throughout implementation.
This Playbook outlines the process of identifying community needs, engaging community members, and transforming plans into action. The steps in this Playbook are best practices and will help your community navigate its efforts while allowing for flexibility to make the process unique to your area’s needs.
