Ready-to-use social media kits and environmental scans. They include graphics, key messages, and templates to help local partners share trusted information quickly and effectively. If you are interested in our other health communications tools and resources, please register to be a member of our collaborative group.
Reports that highlight how our campaigns performed. Some performance and impact measures included in these reports are: who did the campaign reach, how were they received, and what we learned. These reports help us improve future messaging and demonstrate real impact.
Recordings that walk through key data findings, explore how data can inform community health work, and highlight regional trends across Western North Carolina.
Peer-reviewed publications, manuscripts, and special projects developed in partnership with academic researchers and community organizations using WNC data and regional insights.
Pathways Linking Poverty and Mental Health: Causal Mediation Analysis in Southern Appalachia
©American Psychological Association, 2026. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication, at: 10.1037/rmh0000332
In-depth reports that explore key health issues in our region—like health disparities, overlapping risk factors, and what the data tells us about who is most impacted. These reports help partners better understand local needs and support data-informed decision making.
Resources developed through the Mountain Data Equity and Engagement Partners (MTN DEEP) initiative, focused on equitable data practices, community storytelling, and shared learning across WNC.
From 2023-2024, using grant funding from Dogwood Health Trust, Mitchell and Yancey Counties collaboratively invested in a community learning process to better understand the current situation in each county around substance misuse and involve a broad cross-section of people in both counties to identify possible interventions. WNC Health Network partnered with consultants Ashley Cooper (ashleypcooper.com) and Chris Corrigan (harvestmoonconsultants.com) to co-design and facilitate the process with local partners. This report (housed on Partners Aligned Toward Health’s website) summarizes the learnings from the process.
Mitchell County Opioid Planning Needs Assessment – September 2023
In 2022, Mitchell County received a grant from Dogwood Health Trust to support collaborative assessment and planning to inform local opioid settlement funding decisions. WNC Health Network co-designed and facilitated the process with a steering committee of local partners, compiled desired existing data, and conducted additional key informant interviews to inform the process. This report (housed on Partners Aligned Toward Health’s website) summarizes the learnings from the process. It is intended to be used in concurrence with the “Community Shareback Report,” developed in collaboration with Yancey County.
Yancey County Opioid Planning Needs Assessment: July 2022
In 2021, Yancey County received a grant from Dogwood Health Trust to support collaborative assessment and planning to inform local opioid settlement funding decisions. WNC Health Network co-designed and facilitated the process with a steering committee of local partners, compiled desired existing data, and conducted additional key informant interviews and a listening session with people in recovery to inform the process. This report (housed on Partners Aligned Toward Health’s website) summarizes the learnings from the process. It is intended to be used in concurrence with the “Community Shareback Report,” developed in collaboration with Mitchell County.
NC Public Health Region 1 Workforce Development Planning and Strategic Planning – 2022-2025
From 2022-2025, we provided strategic facilitation, assessment, and planning support to the NC Public Health Region 1 Health Directors to strengthen local public health capacity through workforce development and cross-county collaboration. We guided a collaborative process to review current conditions, identify shared opportunities, and co-design early strategies for regional partnerships and shared resources. Our support included partnering with the Workforce Development Director to co-design and co-facilitate multiple sessions with the Health Directors; reviewing and synthesizing existing data and plans; developing a workforce development plan and a strategic plan document; and coordinating with design professionals to produce polished reports. This work laid the groundwork for action plans and sustainable cross-county strategies, while giving Health Directors dedicated time and space to learn together and focus on timely issues.
