Introduction to Whole Communities Whole Health
Whole Communities Whole Health (WCWH) is ultimately a group of researchers, community members, and community organizations working together to learn and share information about a UT Grand Challenge – children’s health.
Importantly, what we study is driven by what matters to families, and making their data available to use.
Our vision is to:
Build a new model for longitudinal cohort studies that uses:
Community-engaged research principles
Current technology to collect data in ways that reduce participant burden
Return information and findings back to participants more quickly
Create technological infrastructure, processes, and partnerships that facilitate this research
Use that infrastructure and expertise to support a constellation of cohort studies
Maintain a space for interdisciplinary collaboration in health
Our goals are to:
Better understand children’s health
Welcome participation by community partners
Use participant and community partner feedback to guide health research
Recruit and engage with a representative sample of families from the study area
Conduct interdisciplinary research
Brief History of WCWH
(A more detailed version of the timeline can be found at the bottom of the WCWH homepage)
September 2016: Call for Papers
UT envisions campus-wide interdisciplinary grand challenge program and invites researchers to submit paper for topics that span all discliplines.
October 2017: First Challenge, Sustainability
Planet Texas 2050 announced as first grand challenge
May 2018: Ten local advocates and leaders join Community Strategy Team
they advise, guide, and contribute to the process of creating the second grand challenge
September 2018: Second Challenge, Childhood Adversity
Former UT-President Fenves introduces Whole Community Whole Health in his state of the union address
Preparation for 5-year cohort study with participants in southeastern Travis County begins
June–August 2019: "Dashboard Dash" created
small group creates first working prototype of the WCWH dashboard app
App is designed to return data to participants in real time
In-person household surveys also begin
August 2019: In partnership with the School of Nursing, WCWH conducts 125 family home interviews with a public health nurse who addresses immediate family concerns and provides resources.
March 2020: More than 135 families participate in online household surveys due to COVID-19 pandemic
June 2020: WCWH creates the Protect Texas Together app
September–November 2020: WCWH divides into 7 working groups focused on different areas of health
December 2020: WCWH hosts first Research Showcase
August 2021: WCWH receives IRB approval and launches 5-year cohort study and recruits first family to participate
December 2021: Launch WCWH app
September 2021: WCWH holds first-ever Open House and shares work to date with UT community, grand challenge partners, local nonprofits, schools, and governments
2022: Scale up recruitment
Current Enrollment/Projects
160 Families Enrolled
497 Participants Enrolled
43 Faculty and Staff Members at the University
16 Graduate Research Assistants
14 Undergraduate Research Assistants
WCWH Geography & Ecology
Community Partners
Community Strategy Team
Annual Reports
