Engaging Communities

Creating Partnerships for Healthy Communities

NYAM has a rich history of involvement in New York City communities through its community-based participatory research to develop interventions that reduce the health disparities within urban populations, its school health education programs, and its policy work. More recently, NYAM has committed to broader and deeper engagement with its neighboring East Harlem community, Central Harlem, and the South Bronx.

New York City and State Partnerships

NYAM's work to improve the health of communities includes partnerships with New York City and State policymakers. With funding from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), the DASH-NY Policy Center and Coalition engages multiple state and community sectors in the fight to end the epidemic of obesity in New York State, working to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. DASH-NY offers community leaders training and technical assistance on how to make policy changes that will help prevent obesity. NYAM is also working with the New York State Department of Health on the New York State Prevention Agenda, an initiative that identifies statewide public health priorities and asks communities to work together with the Department and other providers to achieve measurable goals. NYAM is partnering with the New York City Department of Health on its Strategic Alliance for Health, a coalition of community organizations working to improve local opportunities for physical activity and healthy nutrition and decrease tobacco use in East and Central Harlem and the South Bronx. In addition, NYAM has joined the Manhattan Borough President's Office in supporting Go Green East Harlem since the project's inception in 2007.
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Supporting Healthy Schools and Communities

NYAM encourages healthy lifestyle choices in schools through multidisciplinary programs that incorporate curriculum development, parent workshops, staff training and student activities. Through Healthy Eating Active Living: A School and Community Initiative, NYAM works with teachers and administrators in East Harlem and Bronx public schools to establish environments and habits that promote improved nutrition and increased physical activity. NYAM’s award-winning skin health curriculum, The Wonders of Skin: Looking Good, Being Healthy, developed in partnership with the American Skin Association, has been disseminated nationally, reaching more than 4.1 million K-12 students throughout the United States. NYAM also trains staff at United Neighborhood Houses member agencies across the city who work with teens to promote healthy eating and physical activity, healthy sexuality, and mental and emotional health.

Conducting Innovative Urban Health Research and Community-Based Interventions

NYAM addresses urgent health problems that disproportionately affect underserved urban communities through community-based participatory research and preventive interventions. NYAM's research unit, the Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies (CUES), identifies opportunities to improve the health of urban populations and reduce health disparities, works with communities to translate those findings into interventions, and then develops and evaluates interventions with the greatest potential for scale-up and sustainability. Current studies and interventions address HIV and other infectious diseases, substance abuse, mental health, the role of social determinants of health, and seasonal and pandemic flu vaccinations. To address the persistent problem of low vaccination rates among minorities and people living in poverty, NYAM provides free seasonal influenza vaccination clinics at community-based organizations in East and Central Harlem and spreads awareness about influenza in those communities through Project VIVA. NYAM also works with the Harlem Community & Academic Partnership (HCAP) to identify social determinants of health and implement community-based interventions to improve the health and well-being of Harlem residents. HCAP addresses issues including obesity, prisoner reentry into communities, and vaccinations for hard-to-reach populations in East and Central Harlem.
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