For those interested in what is happening with the Steps to a Healthier Tioga County evaluation please log into Blackboard. If you do not have a user id and password, you may sign in as a guest. Go to Communities - Tioga County Health Partners. Here you will find announcements, survey templates, links and documents that pertain to the Steps evaluation in Tioga County.
Small steps,
big rewards!
Steps to a Healthier U.S. (Steps) is an initiative from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that advances President George W. Bush’s Healthier U.S. goal of helping Americans live longer, better and healthier lives. The initiative is designed to identify and promote efforts that encourage people to make small behavior changes that help reduce the burden of some of the leading causes of death, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, asthma and cancer.
The Steps program envisions a well-integrated public health system for chronic disease prevention and health promotion nationwide. It aims to enhance efforts at the local, state and national levels by building on existing infrastructure, identifying and promoting evidence based practices and leveraging resources to create a crosscutting approach to public health promotion and disease prevention.
The Steps 5-year cooperative agreement program funds states, cities, and tribal entities to implement chronic disease prevention efforts focused on reducing the burden of diabetes, overweight, obesity and asthma by addressing there related risk factors: physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use. In 2004, the state of Pennsylvania received funding with the Pennsylvania Department of Health serving as the lead agency. Through regional Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) offices, three communities within Pennsylvania have been subcontracted to participate in the Steps program. These include Tioga County (Northcentral), Fayette County (Southwest) and Luzerne County (Northeast).