E-mail this pageMobilizing Action for Planning and Partnership (MAPP)
What is MAPP?
Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) is a community-wide strategic planning tool for improving community health. Facilitated by public health leadership, this tool helps communities prioritize public health issues and identify resources for addressing them.
The Community Drives the Process
Community ownership is the fundamental component of MAPP. Because the community's strengths, needs, and desires drive the process, MAPP provides the framework for creating a truly community-driven initiative. Community participation leads to collective thinking and, ultimately, results in effective, sustainable solutions to complex problems.
Broad community participation is essential because a wide range of organizations and individuals contribute to the public's health. Public, private, and voluntary organizations join community members and informal associations in the provision of local public health services. The MAPP process brings these diverse interests together to collaboratively determine the most effective way to conduct public health activities.
Overview of the MAPP Process
In the MAPP model, the "phases" of the MAPP process are shown in the center of the model, while the four MAPP Assessments - the key content areas that drive the process - are shown in the four outer arrows.
Starting the MAPP Process
To initiate the MAPP process, lead organizations in the community begin by organizing themselves and preparing to implement MAPP (Organize for Success/Partnership Development). Community-wide strategic planning requires a high level of commitment from partners, stakeholders, and the community residents who are recruited to participate.
Visioning
The second phase of the MAPP process is Visioning. A shared vision and common values provide a framework for pursuing long-range community goals. During this phase, the community answers questions such as "What would we like our community to look like in 10 years?"
Assessment
Four MAPP Assessments are conducted providing critical insights into challenges and opportunities throughout the community:
- The Community Themes and Strengths Assessment provides a deep understanding of the issues residents feel are important by answering the questions "What is important to our community?" "How is quality of life perceived in our community?" and "What assets do we have that can be used to improve community health?"
- The Local Public Health System Assessment (LPHSA) is a comprehensive assessment of all of the organizations and entities that contribute to the public's health. The LPHSA answers the questions "What are the activities, competencies, and capacities of our local public health system?" and "How are the Essential Services being provided to our community?"
- The Community Health Status Assessment identifies priority issues related to community health and quality of life. Questions answered during the phase include "How healthy are our residents?" and "What does the health status of our community look like?"
- The Forces of Change Assessment focuses on the identification of forces such as legislation, technology, and other issues that affect the context in which the community and its public health system operates. This answers the questions "What is occurring or might occur that affects the health of our community or the local public health system?" and "What specific threats or opportunities are generated by these occurrences?"
Once a list of challenges and opportunities has been generated from each of the four assessments, the next step is to Identify Strategic Issues. During this phase, participants identify linkages between the MAPP assessments to determine the most critical issues that must be addressed for the community to achieve its vision.
After issues have been identified, participants Formulate Goals and Strategies for addressing each issue.
The final phase of MAPP is the Action Cycle. During this phase, participants plan, implement, and evaluate. These activities build upon one another in a continuous and interactive manner and ensure continued success.
Source: www.naccho.org
Contact Information
If you would like more information about Eastern Adirondack Health Care Network (EAHCN) or any of our programs, please contact:
Michelle Hills, M.A.T., Network Coordinator
Phone: (518) 564-4322 or 564-3377
Toll-Free Phone: (800) 388-0199
Fax: (518) 564-2328
E-mail: hillsms@plattsburgh.edu