Center for Health Policy
The University of Missouri, recognizing its mission as a land-grant institution and its responsibility as the academic flagship of Missouri, developed the Center for Health Policy (CHP) in 2002 to foster dialogue and analysis of health policy issues important to the welfare of Missourians.
An objective, nonpartisan center for excellence
Since its inception, the CHP has been responsive to trends and emergent issues in health care by providing objective analysis, education and communication. CHP’s activities strive to incorporate the interests and concerns of all stakeholders to enhance an ongoing awareness of the rapidly changing health care environment.
CHP has several focus areas:
- Improving the quality and efficiency of MO HealthNet, Missouri’s Medicaid program
- Improving health literacy
- Reducing health disparities
- Ensuring an adequate health care workforce in Missouri
- Expanding health insurance coverage in both the private and public sectors
- Expanding rural and urban access to services otherwise not available locally via innovative telehealth interventions such as Show-Me ECHO.
- Reducing childhood obesity
All activities and projects are guided by the principles of collaboration, issue awareness and education, translation of research into practice, policy formation and strategic communication.
CHP strategies include education initiatives, summits, conferences, research, outreach to communities, and multimodal communication. All efforts are multidisciplinary and supported by collaborators from academia, public and private communities, interest groups, community partners, state and local agents, and elected officials.
In 2017, the Center for Health Policy provided 200 hours of training to 1,653 individuals.
Center Projects
Missouri Healthcare Workforce Project
The Missouri Health Care Workforce Project collects, analyzes, and reports data on Missouri’s health care workforce. Project staff publish research and indicator dashboards, enabling stakeholders to make data-driven decisions and advocate for a robust health care workforce. The project supports policymakers and planners in understanding the current status and future trends of the healthcare workforce at the state, regional, and local levels.
KIDS COUNT
Missouri KIDS COUNT is a diverse team of public sector, non-profit and private sector members that works to improve the lives of Missouri’s children by using reliable data to spark collaboration, inform policy making, and make sound investments.
Missouri Census Data Center
The Missouri Census Data Center (MCDC) is a cooperative program among state agencies in Missouri and the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Its purpose is to enhance awareness of and access to public data, especially Census Bureau products.
Reducing Child Hunger / No Kid Hungry Missouri
No Kid Hungry Missouri connects children in need with programs like school breakfast, afterschool and summer meals. Working together with local organizations around the state, we generate the will and skill to help communities feed children in need every day of the year.