How Do Communities Use a Participatory Public Health Approach to Build Resilience? The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project

Abstract

Community resilience is a key concept in the National Health Security Strategy that emphasizes development of multi-sector partnerships and equity through community engagement. Here, we describe the advancement of CR principles through community participatory methods in the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience (LACCDR) initiative. LACCDR, an initiative led by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with academic partners, randomized 16 community coalitions to implement either an Enhanced Standard Preparedness or Community Resilience approach over 24 months. Facilitated by a public health nurse or community educator, coalitions comprised government agencies, community-focused organizations and community members. We used thematic analysis of data from focus groups (n = 5) and interviews (n = 6 coalition members; n = 16 facilitators) to compare coalitions’ strategies for operationalizing community resilience levers of change (engagement, partnership, self-sufficiency, education). We find that strategies that included bidirectional learning helped coalitions understand and adopt resilience principles. Strategies that operationalized community resilience levers in mutually reinforcing ways (e.g., disseminating information while strengthening partnerships) also secured commitment to resilience principles. We review additional challenges and successes in achieving cross-sector collaboration and engaging at-risk groups in the resilience versus preparedness coalitions. The LACCDR example can inform strategies for uptake and implementation of community resilience and uptake of the resilience concept and methods.

Forging, protecting, and repairing community resilience informed by the 2019–2020 Australian bushfires

“…Rather, it means that the experience of stress is followed by normal rather than diminished levels of physical, cognitive, behavioural, and/or emotional functioning (Bonanno & Diminich, ). A community resilience approach recognizes that exposure to risks, such as bushfires and other natural hazards, can lead to growth and development (Bromley et al, ). It creates an understanding born of first‐hand experience that makes any subsequent and similar occurrence feel familiar, which, in turn, diminishes at least the sense of the unknown.…”

“…Implementing simple, planned strategies is the most effective means to achieving resilience on a broad scale. These strategies can include preparedness from the household level upwards; understanding the diversity within the community and ensuring community engagement across all parts of the community, including the vulnerable and frail aged; incorporating disaster preparedness education into all facets of community life; and linking community organizations, such as religious institutions, schools, small businesses, and government services, to create partnerships and reciprocity (Bromley et al, ). Developing strategies which combine these features build a community's social capital.…”

Evaluating Community Partnerships Addressing Community Resilience in Los Angeles, California

“…It is possible that these broader coalitions contributed to stronger resilience capabilities, since integrating across sectors in a community is a hallmark of a more robust and resilient community network. As reported in a previous paper, the resilience coalitions reported conducting 58 trainings compared to 18 conducted by the preparedness coalitions [ 36 ]. Twenty of the resilience coalitions’ 58 trainings were to vulnerable population groups (defined as groups in the community possessing a culture, language, or other distinguishing characteristic that places them at higher risk in a disaster) compared to four of the preparedness coalitions’ 18 trainings.…”

“…Also, many of these 58 trainings were of the train-the-trainer model. Thus, the resilience coalitions may have made considerable impact with these “high-touch” activities [ 36 ]. In contrast, many of the activities that preparedness coalition members reported conducting were standard practice for community-based emergency preparedness such as creating or translating brochures, or were related to standard practice such as exercising or implementing community disaster plans during an emergency, and exercising or implementing a communication plan during a disaster.…”

Mitigation Policy Acceptance Model: An Analysis of Individual Decision Making Process toward Residential Seismic Strengthening

“…The uncertainty information may lead to susceptibility to the threat. As a result, people could rely on prior experience or life experience by making decisions through different considerations rather than a rational consideration process [ 15 , 16 ].…”