Community Empowerment: A Partnership Approach to Public Health Program Implementation

Abstract

Objective. To describe the implementation and outcomes of a sustainable Medicare Plan Selection Assistance Program conducted through a partnership between Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy (AU) and the Alabama State Health Insurance and Assistance Program (SHIP) since 2013. Methods. The Program's goal is to assist Medicare beneficiaries in Medicare Part D plan selection. Reported outcomes included Medicare beneficiaries' plan cost savings and satisfaction, and pharmacy students' self-reported changes in knowledge and attitudes. Results. Each year, over 80 pharmacy students assisted more than 120 beneficiaries; at least 10 events were held covering 6-10 Alabama counties. On average, Medicare beneficiaries had a projected savings of $278.71 (2013), $1,081.66 (2014), $842.84 (2015), and $1,382.90 (2016) after enrolling in a new plan, and most students reported perceived increased ability to help beneficiaries select the most appropriate Medicare Part D plan.

“Step-by-Step We are Stronger”: Women's Empowerment Through Photovoice

“…Downloaded by [Chulalongkorn University] at 08:50 03 January 2015 DUFFY Participation is a critical link in an empowering process (Downey, Anyaebgunam, et al, 2009;Hardina, 2003) where practice and research should be "community-based" not merely "community-placed" (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2003, p. 3). There are still too many top-down project models that target people (Hanks, 2006) as if they are something to be attacked, instead of a source for collaborative partnership. Professionals often fail to recognize and value local knowledge within communities and may be reluctant to share power as they consider themselves experts (Brown, McWilliam, & Ward-Griffin, 2006;Hanks, 2006).…”

“…There are still too many top-down project models that target people (Hanks, 2006) as if they are something to be attacked, instead of a source for collaborative partnership. Professionals often fail to recognize and value local knowledge within communities and may be reluctant to share power as they consider themselves experts (Brown, McWilliam, & Ward-Griffin, 2006;Hanks, 2006). Wang and Burris (1994) wrote specifically about empowerment through photovoice, which they originally named photo novella.…”

The application of the parallel track model in community health promotion: a literature review

“…The parallel track model was primarily designed to directly addresses this challenge by providing an alternative way to incorporate community empowerment into top-down programmes (Laverack 1999, Laverack & Labonte 2000. Although most community empowerment models attempt to address issues of power exploitation (Laverack & Labonte 2000, Hanks 2006, Yoo et al 2009), some of these models aim to either build community capacity with the view of achieving improvements in health in the long run or to achieve more immediate health outcomes. Instead, the parallel track model explicitly aims to achieve both health and community empowerment outcomes (Laverack & Labonte 2000).…”

Intent vs. Implementation—Food Allocation to Adult Males in WIC Households

“…Household dynamics, in reality, likely spread WIC benefits throughout the family. It is argued that WIC has a bottom-up power dynamicthat even though the program is fully federally funded the power is concentrated on the front-line [3]. WIC staff has the ultimate authority to disperse benefits to whom they deem "nutritionally at risk"; there is little consensus on what this construct means.…”