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Presentation
Working with Communities to Generate Community-Level and Community-Engaged Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities
James E. Clyburn Health Disparities Lecture Series (2012)
  • Stacy W. Smallwood, Georgia Southern University
  • Darcy A. Freedman, Case Western Reserve University
  • Ronald Pitner, University of South Carolina
  • Patricia A. Sharpe, University of South Carolina
  • Jennie Ann Cole, University of South Carolina
  • Keisha Webb, University of South Carolina
  • Jessica Hunter, University of South Carolina
Abstract
Health disparities research is increasingly influenced by 2 research paradigms: community-based participatory research (CBPR) and social determinants of health (SDOH). CBPR approaches call for collaborative research relationships that empower communities to co-generate research programs while SDOH perspectives focus on macro-level or “upstream” factors influencing individual health outcomes. This research incorporates a CBPR approach to address SDOH among residents living in a public housing community and an adjacent neighborhood in Columbia, SC. A mini grant program was developed to encourage community members to develop community-level and community-engaged interventions focused on creating a healthier community environment through neighborhood improvement; mini grants were only available to people who lived or worked in one of the targeted communities. A 6-session training program was developed to guide community members in proposal development with 25 people attending at least 1 session. Six proposals were submitted for external peer-review. These proposals were scored according to the degree to which the proposed interventions benefited everyone in the community and engaged community members in the change process in a manner that was feasible within a 6-month timeframe. Submitted proposals focused on hunger and food security (n=2), exercise and wellness (1), computer literacy (2), and community advocacy and capacity-building (n=2). Three proposals were organized by community residents and 3 by faith-based organizations in the community. The awarded programs focused on hunger and food security, exercise and wellness, and community advocacy. The proposals selected for funding received up to $12,000 each to enact their interventions over a 6-month timeframe. In addition to the awarded programs, a community garden is being implemented in the targeted community. The four community-level, community-engaged interventions will be evaluated collectively using a quasi-experimental design to assess their ability to increase community participation among public housing residents.
Keywords
  • Health disparities,
  • Community-based participatory research,
  • Social determinants of health,
  • Health outcomes,
  • Food security,
  • Exercise and wellness,
  • Computer literacy,
  • Community advocacy,
  • Capacity-building,
  • Community interventions
Publication Date
April 20, 2012
Location
Columbia, SC
Citation Information
Stacy W. Smallwood, Darcy A. Freedman, Ronald Pitner, Patricia A. Sharpe, et al.. "Working with Communities to Generate Community-Level and Community-Engaged Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities" James E. Clyburn Health Disparities Lecture Series (2012)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/stacy_smallwood/7/