Office of Primary Prevention

Primary Prevention Plans

Every county in Tennessee develops and carries out an annual Primary Prevention Plan. The plans provide both an opportunity and an implementation strategy for all staff in Tennessee’s local health departments to engage in primary prevention work.  The Office of Primary Prevention facilitates the development of the plans and provides best practice recommendations and resources to assist counties with the implementation of their initiatives.

To learn more about the Primary Prevention Plans, email Matt Coleman at matthew.coleman@tn.gov.

The Primary Prevention Plans outline the self-identified responsibilities of each local health department in Tennessee for engaging in primary prevention work. The plans are developed annually and reflect local priorities identified through local assessments including County Health Assessments, and the resulting Community Health Improvement Plans that are developed and led by local county health councils. The Primary Prevention Plans are also informed by high-level strategic priorities developed by the state including the Tennessee Department of Health’s Strategic Plan and the State Health Plan.

Primary Prevention Plans Annual Report

The Primary Prevention Plans Annual Report provides an overview of initiatives and accomplishments of the plans across the state in order to highlight the important work that health department staff implement each year. Please click the images below to view the reports.

Primary Prevention Resources

Annual Primary Prevention Plan Resource Guide 

Each year, the Office of Primary Prevention creates a resource guide that provides an overview to what primary prevention is, what meaningful primary prevention work is, how to make a clinical connection to population health, and how a local health department should complete their planning process.  You can view the current resource guide by clicking on the cover photo of the guide.  

Root Cause Analysis Toolkit

The Office of Primary Prevention developed the Root Cause Analysis Toolkit to aid health department staff and partners in identifying and addressing the social drivers of health outcomes.  The toolkit is designed to incorporate upstream prevention and systems thinking into existing processes, or to help brainstorm more holistic and interconnected approaches to public health. The toolkit can be adapted easily for a variety of processes, and can be used in virtual, in-person, or hybrid settings.

The toolkit includes: 1) the exercise outline and visual templates, 2) a facilitator's guide, and 3) a PowerPoint slide deck for introducing the exercise.

Toolkit Materials

OPP Resource Guide

Root Cause Analysis Exercise Materials

Root Cause Analysis Facilitation Guide

Root Cause Analysis Presentation Slide Deck

TN Vitality Toolkit

The Tennessee Vitality Toolkit is a framework to help Tennessee County Health Councils strengthen community well-being as they transition from their County Health Assessment (CHA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) process to collective impact and action.

The Toolkit lays out a menu of resources for nineteen priority areas that a Health Council might choose to focus on in their CHIP. This first launch of the toolkit includes these six priority areas: Community Resilience, Person-Centered Care, Positive Childhood Experiences, Civic Engagement, Substance Misuse Prevention, and Nutrition Security.

Click here to access the Toolkit

Tennessee's State Health Plan

The State Health Plan utilizes an overarching framework that offers a blueprint for improving the health of the people of Tennessee through the use of “upstream” primary prevention efforts. The framework not only directs the efforts of the Department at the state level but also allows organizations and engaged citizens across the state to align with TDH’s vision and priorities.

TN Diabetes Action Report | 2019

The State of Tennessee is diligently working toward a culture of health through statewide, regional, county, community and individual initiatives. This report provides an overview of the state of diabetes in Tennessee and the work specific to diabetes in the Bureau of TennCare, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), and the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration.

Built Environment and Health

Primary Prevention in Tennessee

The Office of Primary Prevention hosts a series of webinars to highlight best practices around primary prevention, with a particular focus on initiatives and examples from Tennessee. Recordings of the webinars are available below. To learn about upcoming primary prevention webinars please sign up for the Office of Primary Prevention Newsletter.

Faithful Families: Eating Smart and Moving More

Presented by Lisa Fuller, MS, RD, LDN, University of Tennessee Extension

This webinar presents a nutrition and physical activity-based curriculum intended for faith-based organizations. The curriculum focuses on policy changes that promote health in faith-based communities.

Arkansas Joint Use Agreement Program

Presented by Jerri Clark, School Health Services Director, State of Arkansas

Learn about joint use agreements, which allow the public to use facilities such as playgrounds or walking tracks at schools after hours. This webinar focuses on Arkansas and its program to address obesity through the promotion of joint use agreements.

Superheroes Working Against Tobacco

Presented by Becky McKinney, Health Educator, Washington County Health Department, Tennessee

This webinar describes a tobacco-based curriculum for students in 4th to 7th grades, and incudes evaluation results from the program.

Collaborative Social Support for Breastfeeding in Nashville

Presented by Heather Snell, Preventive Health & Wellness Coordinator, Metro Public Health Department, Nashville, Tennessee

To help reduce barriers to breastfeeding, Nashville's Metro Public Health Department worked with several local partners to help create an atmosphere and culture of support for mothers who are breastfeeding.

Vitamin N: Nature Interventions for Physical and Mental Well-Being

Presented by Ryan Jenkins, Park Manager, Henry Horton State Park; Dr. Denise Werner, Physician, Southeast Regional Health Office; Dr. Rose Vick, Instructor, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

This webinar provides an overview of the many physical and mental health benefits of being outdoors. Learn what the research tells us about the benefits of "Vitamin N" in people's overall health and well-being, and about the Tennessee State Parks "Healthy Parks, Healthy Person" program that encourages Tennesseeans to be active outdoors.

Healthy Development Coordinators and Primary Prevention

Presented by Ashley Davies, HDC, Northeast Region; Lesly-Marie Buer, HDC, East Region; Beth Blevins, HDC, Southeast Region; Kurt Heischmidt, HDC, Upper Cumberland Region; Kasha Harris, HDC, South Central Region; Sara Cox, HDC, Mid-Cumberland Region; and Tim King, HDC, West Region

Learn more about the Tennessee Department of Health's regional Healthy Development Coordinators positions. The built environment plays an important role in shaping the health of Tennesseans, and the Healthy Development Coordinators serve as a link between the worlds of public health, planning, transportation, housing, parks, and others who shape the environments where we live, work, play, and pray. Learn how these positions are promoting the development of healthy places and and hear about example projects from across the state. 

Morning Movement

Presented by Kayla French, Health Promotion Director, Upper Cumberland Regional Health Office;  Katie Neal, Health Educator, Putnam County Health Department; Michael Cooper, Health Educator, Putnam County Health Department

Morning Movement has been a great way to incorporate 30 minutes of physical activity to school age children in Putnam County.  It allows students to be physically active during the time they arrive at school and wait for the morning bell to ring.  This program has cut down on disciplinary actions while bringing oxygen to the brain to get it functioning properly before the school day begins.  

Mental Health First Aid 

Presented by Melissa Taylor, RN, BSN, CLNC, CHEP, Nurse Consultant, Northeast Regional Health Office

The Northeast Regional Health Office identified mental health training and response as a gap across the spectrum of responder and receiver organizations.  The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training seeks to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to identify anyone experiencing a mental health issue or crisis.  It gives participants the tools to approach the person having an issue and provide basic intervention until professional help can be sought, if needed.  

Talk With Me Baby: Promoting Language Nutrition For Healthy Brain Development

Presented by Patti Scott, DNP, RN, PNP, NCSN, Clinical Director, TDH-Office of Primary Prevention

Just as healthy food nourishes a growing baby's body, language nutrition nourishes a baby's brain.  Quantity and quality of nourishing language, like healthy food, is critical to brain development.  Learn more about this TDH initiative and how you can help promote language nutrition in Tennessee! 

Athletes: Keeping Them In The Game Opioid Summit

Presented by Catherine Sedergren, Assessment and Planning Coordinator/West Region; Myrtle Russell, Director of Community Services/West Region

The West Tennessee Regional Opioid Summit: Athletes: Keeping Them In The Game, is the first known initiative of its kind in Tennessee.  This initiative is different from other programs addressing opioid abuse in that committee members utilized a collective impact approach to move beyond providing basic education and awareness to actively outlining the process of policy change fo the primary prevention of opioid abuse among athletes.  This initiative intentionally involved loal community leaders in both the planning and implementation phases so that participants would leave the summit armed with the knowledge and tools necessary to encourage policy cange designed to prevent opioid misuse among high school athletes and students at large, thereby utilizing an upstream approach to prevent substance misuse before it starts.  

Stop The Bleed

Presented by Wanda Roberts, Regional Hospital Coordinator/East Region; Corie Gouge, Assessment and Planning Coordinator/East Region.  

This national initiative was piloted within the East Region and brought together 70 community partners across the region!  Stop the Bleed is intended to cultivate grassroots efforts that encourage bystanders to become trained, equipped, and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.  

Office of Primary Prevention: An Introduction 

Presented by Leslie Meehan, MPA, AICP, Director; John Vick, Ph.D, Evaluation and Assessment Director; Patti Scott, DNP, RN, PNP, NCSN, Clinical Director; Shannon Velasquez, Built Environment Coordinator; Matt Coleman, MPH, CHES, Primary Prevention Coordinator

The mission of the Office of Primary Prevention is to help Tennessee communiites build a culture of health through livable and nurturing places and spaces so that everyone can reach their full potential.  This webinar will introduce you to the office staff and provide highlights of how they are working to achieve this mission.  

Tennessee Livability Collaborative

The Tennessee Livability Collaborative is a working group of 24 Tennessee state agencies, departments, commissions, and academic institutions. The Collaborative's mission is to improve the prosperity, quality of life, and health of Tennesseans through state-level collaboration in the areas of policy, funding, and programming. 

For more information about the Tennessee Livability Collaborative please contact John Vick at john.vick@tn.gov.

Membership

The Collaborative is facilitated by John Vick with the Office of Primary Prevention and Sarah Elliott with the Division of Health Planing at the Tennessee Department of Health. The Collaborative is jointly-owned by all participating state agencies and meets bi-monthly. If your agency is interested in joining the Collaborative please reach out to John Vick at john.vick@tn.gov.

Evaluation Report

The Tennessee Livability Collaborative was evaluated in 2018-2019 to determine whether the group is achieving its goals, to better understand its accomplishments and value to its members, and to inform the future work and direction of the group. Click the image to see the evaluation report.

The Tennessee Livability Collaborative, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Human Resources, developed a learning institute and training opportunity for state government staff to learn about programs and resources available across the Tennessee Government enterprise around jobs, transportation, housing, food, education, and health. Graduates of the learning institute, the Tennessee Ambassador League Institute (TALI), become members of the Tennessee Ambassador League and serve as leaders in cross-sector collaboration within their agencies.

The Tennesse Ambassador League Institute (TALI):

• Informs staff about resources available from multiple state agencies and helps participants recognize the connection between jobs, housing, transportation, food, and education, including how each of these contributes to livability and quality of life in communities across Tennessee.
• Generates a cross-sector group of leaders who will collaborate and improve service utilization across Tennessee state government.
• Empowers trainees to learn what resources are available and provides a strong foundation in leadership skills with a customer-focused emphasis.
• Aligns with and trains participants to use the My TN app and fosters early adopters who will promote and train others as additional resources are added.
• Graduates attendees who become members of the Tennessee Ambassador League.

TALI participants are front-line supervisors or high-performing citizen-facing staff with leadership potential from Tennessee state government agencies. Upon graduation, attendees train their front-line workforce that directly engages with citizens. As a graduate of the Institute and member of TALI, participants become the local or regional champion for cross-sector collaboration from their respective agencies. 

To learn more about the Tennessee Ambassador League please contact Dr. John Vick at john.vick@tn.gov

Tennessee Ambassador League Institute 2018 Pilot Cohort

Please click here for a summary of the Tennessee Ambassador League Institute pilot cohort.

Clinical Connection to Primary Prevention

Primary prevention is part of the critical work in every county health department. TDH nurses, dentists, physicians, APRNs and other clinical staff lead and lend their expertise within and external to their clinical settings. Clinician involvement in primary prevention is increasing across the state and country and includes a variety of activities that build a Culture of Health such as participating in Walk with a Doc; writing park prescriptions; serving on boards that address social determinants such as housing and transportation authorities and school wellness teams; giving talks about nutrition and chronic disease prevention at local clubs; tutoring school children; promoting early language and brain development advocating for tobacco prevention policies; counseling families about bike helmets; and more. Health professionals are recognized and trusted leaders, and as community members they can influence policy, systems and environment changes that lead to stronger, more prosperous and livable communities and good health.

For more information, contact Leslie Meehan at leslie.meehan@tn.gov.

Physical Activity Resource Guide for Clinicians

Tennessee Department of Health, 2018

This guide contains best practice guidelines and resources for clinicians for promoting physical activity. It provides an overview of the importance of physical activity, describes best practice programs and educational opportunities, and identifies community resources and clinical approaches. Sample exercise plans and additional resources are included in the guide.

Exercise is Medicine Community Connection Course

This course is under development and is a collaboration between the Tennessee Department of Health and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Health and Human Performance and Public Health programs. The course will be a web-based version of the American College of Sports Medicine Exercise as Medicine course. In addition, it will include a community component that focuses on promoting and developing access to community-based physical activity resources. It will initially be piloted with TDH clinicians, and then offered state-wide. Stay tuned!

Early Brain and Language Development  |  Talk With Me Baby

Talk With Me Baby (TWMB) is a population-based initiative designed to ensure that every child, starting from birth, receives the essential “language nutrition.” The initiative aims to build a strong foundation for social-emotional and cognitive development and language and literacy ability, placing babies on a pathway toward third grade reading proficiency, high school graduation, and lifelong success. Led by the Office of Primary Prevention,, the Tennessee Department of Health partnered with the Georgia Department of Public Health to adapt their TWMB coach training for Tennessee county health department staff. To date, nearly 1,000 health department employees and 400 home visitors have been trained as TWMB coaches; 11 health department employees from the Mid-Cumberland Region and Central Office are trained as coach trainers; and 75,000 TWMB books have been distributed to county and metro health departments. A health department web-based video and coach training guide rolled out in 2019 to allow for more efficient training of staff across the state. The goals are for all health department staff to coach and model language nutrition at every infant/caregiver interaction, and to expand the initiative statewide to birthing hospitals, schools of nursing, early childcare providers, primary care practices, and other entities that serve young families.

Click here for an update on the Tennessee Department of Health's Talk With Me Baby efforts.

Click here to listen to here Joey Smith, Director of Public Health in Clarksville, TN, speak about the importance of language nutrition. 

Health Professions Schools Competencies

The Office of Primary Prevention's Clinical Advisory Committee created this competency framework for health professions students in Tennessee, aimed at enhancing knowledge, skills and attitudes related to population and community health, the non-biologic drivers of health, and the larger health ecosystem.  We hope that they will be helpful for health professions educators as they plan, develop, and improve their curricula.

New 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and Move Your Way Campaign

The  2nd Edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans builds on the first edition, and includes updated recommendations. It includes specific, evidence-based physical activity recommendations for seniors and young children. The Move your way Campaign  is a way to promote the new Guidelines. Excellent materials are available and include patient-focused handouts and media-ready messages.
 

Healthy Parks Healthy Person

Founded on the national Healthy Parks Healthy People initiative, Tennessee’s Healthy Parks Healthy Person program aims to help Tennesseans to get outdoors to improve physical and mental health. People can use the app to record time spent outdoors and earn rewards at state parks such as kayak rentals and stays in a state park lodge. Health care providers can prescribe time outdoors using the Parks Rx. The program is working toward an app/health record connection so that people can use the app to record their activities and providers can track patients’ progress in meeting their health goals.

Physical Activity

American College of Sports Medicine: Exercise as Medicine

Culture of Health

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

National Academy of Medicine

Improving Health through Nursing

Future of Nursing Campaign for Action

Tennessee Action Coalition

Nurses on Boards Coalition

American Academy of Nursing

Public Health 3.0: A Call to Action for Public Health to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Preventive Medicine

American College of Preventive Medicine

Contact Us

John W. Vick, PhD, MS
Director
John.vick@tn.gov

Matthew T. Coleman, MPH, CHES
Primary Prevention Coordinator
Matthew.coleman@tn.gov

Shannon Velasquez, MS , CPH
Built Environment Coordinator and Grants Manager
Shannon.Velasquez@tn.gov

Michael Paul, MPH
Evaluation and Assessment Director
Michael.Paul@tn.gov

Lisa Ward
Learning Management System Coordinator
Lisa.M.Ward@tn.gov

Paige Summers
Nutrition Security Projects Director
Paige.H.Summers@tn.gov

Katherine Witcher, MPH
Continuing Education Coordinator
Katherine.X.Witcher@tn.gov

Rebecca Liu, MPH
Public Health Fellow
Rebecca.Liu@tn.gov

Cathy Taylor, RN, DPH
Clinician Advisor
Cathy.Taylor@tn.gov

Donna Williams
Housing Advisor
Donna.Williams@tn.gov

Adriane Harris
Housing Advisor
Adriane.Harris@tn.gov