Our Mission
The mission of the PRCHN is to foster partnerships within low-resource neighborhoods to develop, test, and implement effective and sustainable strategies and interventions to prevent and reduce the burden of chronic disease. We do this by collaborating with neighborhood residents, leaders, and community organizations in Greater Cleveland to address the significant environmental and lifestyle issues that serve as barriers to good health.
The Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods (PRCHN) was formed in 2009 to address chronic health issues faced in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Greater Cleveland area. The PRCHN reflects a growing national concern about the slow decay of urban Industrial centers with low income, low education, and a greater health risk burden than the national average. This is especially true in Cleveland, which often ranks among the poorest and most unhealthy populations in the country.
With our Network of Community Advisors (NOCA) and institutional partners, the PRCHN is committed to helping find solutions to improving health in the local community by collecting and disseminating relevant and timely data, developing and testing culturally relevant interventions, evaluating community programs, serving as an active community partner in community-wide initiatives, and providing an open and accessible venue for dialogue and dissemination.
The PRCHN has partners within and outside the university. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health and the Cleveland Department of Public Health serve as integral players in the Center’s work, as do primary programmatic partners such as the YWCA of Greater Cleveland, Hunger Network, The Ohio State University Extension Office for Cuyahoga County, and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.