Prioritization in community health planning: combining methods to achieve implementable priorities.

Community Health Planning (CHP) is one of the tools that states and localities use to develop health policies and programs. The author argues that, for CHP to succeed, it must include both positive/hierarchic data as well as interpretive information. To augment the discussion, the author discusses the State of Tennessee's effort to revamp its public health mission and strategies as specifically implemented in one county. The author contrasts the two types of data generated and argues that each has a legitimate claim in the CHP process: the "positive" data in the form of epidemiological statistics to inform the stakeholders and the "interpretive data" in the form of stakeholder participation for ownership of the process. The author then draws implications for states and localities to use diverse information sources as they improve services and service delivery to citizens and recipients.