News Release - June 10, 2015

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Jennifer Forbes                                                                                                  
Communications & Public Affairs
732-235-6356, jenn.forbes@rwjms.rutgers.edu

                              

                                 

 

Key Indicators for Improving the Health and Wellness of New Brunswick Residents Identified by Rutgers Study

 

New Brunswick, NJ – A new report is available that evaluates health-related studies conducted in New Brunswick during a three-year period, and based on the data, recommends key health indicators that establishes a baseline for a shared measurement system that can be used to collect new health data for New Brunswick. The report, Measurement to Promote a Healthier New Brunswick, was published by community health faculty at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in collaboration with the City of New Brunswick, Johnson & Johnson and New Brunswick Tomorrow. 

 “We conducted this assessment to understand how community health efforts may make a difference in the lives of New Brunswick residents,” said Maria B. Pellerano, MA, MBA, MPH, co-author of the report and assistant professor of family medicine and community health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. 

Measurement to Promote a Healthier New Brunswick outlines the data available from previous studies for nine key health indicators and identifies lessons learned from each assessment, particularly the need for consistent data collection over long periods of time, and the difficulty of assessing New Brunswick’s rapidly shifting demographic.

“Measuring data that is available from previous studies allows us to begin identifying those health indicators that most affect residents,” said Eric G. Jahn, MD, senior associate dean of community health at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who co-authored the publication with Ms. Pellerano. “The data provided in this comprehensive report can be used to develop initiatives to meet New Brunswick’s current health needs.

The assessment enhances the work of Healthier New Brunswick, established in 2001 to improve wellness in the city through community-based partnerships, by recommending an initial set of indicators to clarify and communicate what it means to create healthy communities. Healthier New Brunswick is managed through the partnership of New Brunswick Tomorrow, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Johnson & Johnson, and the City of New Brunswick.

“Local organizations invested in improving the lives of New Brunswick residents have taken a collective impact approach to promote health initiatives within the city,” said Jaymie Santiago, director of program operations at New Brunswick Tomorrow. “Working together, our partners are committed to engaging community members in improving health outcomes and wellness.” 

“The efforts of Healthier New Brunswick are strengthened when community partners have a shared understanding of how their work contributes to achieving the broader goals of community-wide health and wellness.  Understanding specific health indicators is an important starting point for developing a shared measurement system,” added Bonnie Petrauskas, executive director of Corporate Contributions at Johnson & Johnson. 

“Within Middlesex County, New Brunswick is unique, with a different population from our neighboring towns,” said Jim Cahill, Mayor of the City of New Brunswick. “This report allows New Brunswick and its partners to focus specifically on the needs of our community so we may provide even more effective programs to address the most important health concerns of our citizens.”

Looking ahead, the report concludes with a recommendation of key health indicators for improving health outcomes for further study to develop strategies for evolving educational programs and healthcare delivery within the city. The recommendations provide guidance on how best to collect future data sets for those indicators. 

The report may be found online at: http://rwjms.rutgers.edu/community_health/index.html

 

About Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
As one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school's principal affiliate, comprise one of the nation's premier academic medical centers. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.

 

Part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 20 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cardiovascular Institute, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels on its campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, visit rwjms.rutgers.edu. Find us online at www.facebook.com/RWJMedicalSchool andwww.twitter.com/RWJMS

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