Healthy Faith Partnerships
The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has long partnered with faith-based organizations across South Carolina to improve and protect the health of everyone in our state. DPH and faith-based partners have worked together for decades to address public health issues, including chronic diseases, tobacco cessation, Zika virus and the COVID-19 pandemic.
To capitalize on those efforts and make even greater impact on people’s health in South Carolina, DPH is developing a comprehensive faith-based outreach effort called Healthy Faith Partnerships. Concerns about issues like maternal and infant health, chronic disease, and health disparities highlight the need to intensify efforts to improve the health of people in our state, and we believe Healthy Faith Partnerships is part of the answer.
This initiative will focus on reaching every faith-based organization in our state to learn their needs and how they, other partners and DPH might work together to improve people’s health.
Healthy Faith Partnerships Survey
To kick off this initiative, DPH is asking leaders of faith-based organizations to complete the Healthy Faith Partnerships survey. The survey is open now through Dec. 31, 2025, and all faith-based organizations are asked to take it.
By completing this survey, faith organizations will help DPH understand the unique needs of their membership and local communities. Working with faith leaders, DPH will use the results of the survey to guide us in supporting the needs of faith-based organizations that can help make South Carolina healthier.
Making South Carolina Healthier Together
Improving and forming new partnerships is a cornerstone of DPH’s efforts to improve everyone’s health in our state. While we as the lead public health agency embrace the responsibility for improving health in South Carolina, we can’t do it alone. It is going to take partners from every sector, including faith-based organizations.
For generations, faith-based organizations – such as churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and other places of worship – have played key roles in supporting the spiritual, physical and mental well-being of communities throughout South Carolina. Healthy Faith Partnerships is a recognition of those contributions, and the ongoing positive influence faith-based organizations can have on the collective effort to improve the health of people across South Carolina.
DPH is asking faith-based organizations for their input on how we can make our state healthier. To provide your thoughts, please take part in the 10-minute survey.
DPH will also make printed surveys available, upon request. To request a printed survey, send your request and mailing address to HealthyFaithPartnerships@dph.sc.gov.