Ruth Dudding, CHES, is the Director of Health Education at the Athens City-County Health Department in Southern Ohio. Ruth works with communities, worksites, schools, and health systems to prevent chronic disease and improve health equity in the county. The focus of her work is to improve access to healthy food, increase opportunities for physical activity, and eliminate tobacco use through policy, system, and environmental change. Ruth participated in an international social participation project, Shaping Health, Exchanging on Social Power in Health, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Training and Research Support Center January 2016 to present. Five US cities, including Athens, Ohio, were chosen to exchange community engagement ideas with twelve international case study sites to identify policies and practices related social power that could be transferrable to US sites. Through her 18 years of experience at the health department, Ruth has learned that community engagement and shared decision-making are the keys to better health outcomes.
Upon attending this presentation, attendees will be able to apply community engagement practices to improve program sustainability
Please contact Erin Krafka erin.krafka@gmail.com
