Hispanic Health Council

The Hispanic Health Council (HHC) was established in 1978 in response to the health care crisis in the Puerto Rican community. HHC is a nationally recognized community-based research, service, training, and advocacy organization. It is committed to developing and providing a comprehensive approach to improving the health and social well-being of Latinos and other low-income inner city populations.

History
The Hispanic Health Council, which is based in Hartford, CT, has an all year round track record of successfully translating its research findings into prevention, intervention, and community education programs since its founding in 1978. Furthermore, the organization has grown to be the largest Hispanic social service organization in the state of Connecticut, with special expertise in maternal and child care, family nutrition, risk reduction, youth development, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS.

Goal
The central mission of the Hispanic Health Council is to use research to enhance the effectiveness of community intervention and education programs and to use long term involvement in the community to develop health research programs. The organization’s efforts to achieve these goals are characterized by:
 * The use of state-of-the art research methodology in identifying, assessing, tracking, and responding to emergent and enduring public health problems;
 * A commitment to community participation and an activist/involved approach to scholarship; * building broad-based community collaborators and consumer participation in prevention/intervention research;
 * Technology transfer and the creation of research capacity at the grassroots level;
 * A strong track record of both professional publication and the community dissemination of research findings through conferences, workshops, presentations, health fairs, fact sheets, newsletters, and related media;
 * A deep concern with the development of culturally and socially competent prevention/intervention models;
 * Interdisciplinary collaboration; and last but not least
 * Health policy and advocacy. The Hispanic Health Council is organized in five Centers of Excellence: Maternal and Child Health, Nutrition, Youth and Family Health and Development, Risk Reduction, and Research.