Report Publish Date: October 2022

This report summarizes Tennessee’s health, wellbeing, and equity journey from 2016 to 2021, as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Sentinel Communities Surveillance project. 

Primary Takeaways

Through legislation, task forces, and economic development, the Tennessee had expanded access to health care and related services in rural areas.

During the period studied, the state was focused on preventing chronic disease, addressing mental health and substance use, and advancing livability and quality of life. The state has tended to focus on “treatment and cures,” the authors say, “rather than prevention and addressing the social determinants of health.”  

Overview and Objectives

Begun in 2016, RWJF’s Sentinel Communities Surveillance project tracks how a Culture of Health is developing in 29 communities across the country. The authors wanted to describe key challenges, opportunities, and insights in Tennessee.

Hypothesis or Approach 

The authors gathered information from phone interviews with Sentinel Community leaders; online, published, and local materials and media about the communities; and data sources including the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, County Health Rankings, and state and local data collection systems.

For this report, the authors conducted 56 hourlong, semi-structured interviews between early 2017 and spring 2022. Interviewees came from several different types of organizations and sectors 

How This Influences Change

“Tennessee’s journey may be informative to other communities who have been challenged by a resistance to government intervention in health and a politicization of health and equity topics,” the authors write.