History of the Center

In August 2001, the School of Rural Public Health, a component of the Texas A&M System Health Science Center, established the Community Health Development Program (CHDP) to address the need to create partnerships for improving population health status (including financing and access to care) with local communities across the state to carry out the school's mission. More importantly, the school needed a component to lead efforts to secure extramural funding, conduct research, and train master's and doctoral students in community health development strategies and methods. From its inception, the CHDP has had the goal of establishing a national and international reputation as a resource for training, technical assistance, and research around community health development efforts.

In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention selected CHDP as a national Prevention Reaseach Center. CHDP's name was subseqently changed to the Center for Community Health Development (CCHD). The Center was formed to establish a research, education, and experience base for improving population health status through community health development approaches. Community health development approaches are cost-effective because they leverage existing resources, and have proven to be an effective way for communities to work together to increase their capacity to meet the health needs of their residents. CCHD contributes to the national research agenda related to processes of community health development and population health status improvement, with specific focus on rural and border residents, and the working poor. The Center also provides invaluable research, education and training experience for masters and doctoral students of the School of Public Health (SPH), and other components of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the Texas A&M University System.

Since its inception in 2001, the Center has worked to bring academic and community partners together to reduce the burden of preventable diseases and conditions that affect rural and underserved populations in communities across Texas. While most of its work has focused on the Brazos Valley and South Texas, CCHD has served more than 100 of Texas’ 254 counties, and this number grows each year. We have also provided hands-on experience in community-based participatory approaches to research and practice to over 100 students through graduate assistantships and practicum opportunities. For more information about the center, please see our Mission page.