Strengthening Our Public and Community Health

HEALTH SYSTEMS

RWJF supports programs that are helping to expand our thinking about community partnerships that work together to pursue public and community health. 

We believe improving public and community health requires linking systems like hospitals, schools and health departments with community organizations, urban planners and developers, and business. Improving public and community health requires a commitment to health equity to ensure everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. 

Construction staff and community officials discuss plans for a new grocery store.

Working with Community Partners to Advance Equity in Public Health

Related News and Insights

Read expert perspectives and the latest research from RWJF to explore the opportunities and complexities of this topic.

Representative public health data informs policies.
Blog Post

To Protect Democracy, We Must Protect Public Health Data

Public health data is disappearing. We can protect it and make the 2030 Census a success.
Public and Community Health Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Structural Racism
A mother holding her son up to a high shelf at the grocery store.
Brief

How Cuts to Nutrition and Housing Assistance Ripple Through Communities

Congress passed and the President signed a bill that cuts SNAP by at least $186 billion and is coupled with a proposed 43% reduction in federal rental assistance programs in the FY 2026 budget bill. This will devastate families and have a ripple effect across communities.
Public and Community Health Policy and Law Nutrition
Sunrise over a waterway surrounded by tall grass.
Research

Protecting Health and Equity in the Face of Climate Change

Across the U.S., there are successful efforts underway at the local level to protect health and adapt to the changing climate with a focus on supporting those at the greatest risk.
Public and Community Health Climate Change & Climate Action
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Grantee Resource

Reimagining Public Health

Read more on Health Affairs

Featured Initiatives

RWJF funds many initiatives to create opportunities that improve health equity. For this area of focus, these initiatives were selected to demonstrate grantmaking that is helping us achieve the greatest impact. 

A woman working in a food pantry.

Aligning Systems for Health

Focusing on identifying, testing, and sharing what works to align healthcare, public health, and social services to better address the needs of the people and communities they serve.

Learn more about aligning systems
Three friendly patients leaving a clinic.

Public Health Forward

Improve the health of communities by strengthening and advocating for local health departments.

Learn more about naccho
Group of multi-ethnic women walking down the stairs of gym.

Culture of Health Prize

The RWJF Culture of Health Prize honors communities at the forefront of addressing structural racism and other structural injustices to advance health, opportunity, and equity for all.
Learn more about the Prize