The Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion
The Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion or CRCPHP (formerly the Southwest Center for Community Health Promotion or SWCCHP, and also referred to as the AZ Prevention Research Center-AZPRC) is one of three Prevention Research Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Funded originally in 1998 by the CDC and now renewed through September 2009, the Center provides a framework for regular outreach, practice and service for the faculty, staff, students and community partners who collaborate with the Center.

The overall goal of CRCPHP is to make a significant contribution to the field of intervention science in chronic disease prevention and control, and thereby contribute to the reduction in health disparities and improvement in health status of multiethnic communities primarily in the Arizona-Sonora, Mexico border region.

A closely related goal is to make significant contribution to the application and evaluation of strategies of participatory research in these communities. To learn more about the CRCPHP, visit the CRCPHP website.

Arizona Center for Public Health Preparedness
This new Center, started by a four-year CDC grant, aims to improve public health preparedness in Arizona for emergency events including but not limited to terrorism, disease outbreaks and hazardous materials incidents. Our partner agencies include the Arizona Department of Health Services, county health departments and American Indian tribes in Arizona, as well as public health agencies in Sonora. .

For more information about the Preparedness Center, visit the AZCPHP Web site.

Center for Health Equality – Project EXPORT
In February 2003, the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health received a five-year EXPORT Center grant (Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research in Health Disparities and Training) from the National Institutes of Health.

This grant to eradicate health disparities in our state integrates research, training and community outreach, focusing on diabetes and substance abuse in Native American and Hispanic communities. This integration is critical to the community outreach, practice and service mission of our College.

The grant, which has led to the establishment of the Center for Health Equality, explores and establishes core partnerships with an urban Hispanic community and a rural Native American community to develop and implement interventions that focus on strengthening the infrastructure for addressing diabetes and substance abuse.

In addition, 20 MPH and Latino Health fellows, funded by this grant, provide direct community outreach in these communities. For more information about this Center and EXPORT, visit the CHE Web site.

Rural Health Office
The Rural Health Office (RHO) at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health has been in existence for more than 23 years. Established through an Arizona legislative appropriation, the RHO has provided an extensive framework for service collaboration with underserved communities throughout Arizona, as well as the Southwest and internationally.

For the past 12 years, the RHO has been designated as Arizona’s State Office of Rural Health through the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The RHO serves as a major link to rural community clinics and public health departments, Indian Health Service hospitals and rural critical access hospitals, and tribal and non-tribal EMS systems. In addition, the RHO has collaborated with communities and provided direct technical assistance to increase access to care, provide disease-prevention and health-promotion activities, enhance rural health infrastructure, and to build long-term partnerships to decrease health disparities in underserved communities.

For more information about the RHO, visit the RHO Web site.