Using Multilevel, Multisource Needs Assessment Data for Planning Community Interventions

Abstract

African Americans and Latinos share higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes compared with Whites. These diseases have common risk factors that are amenable to primary and secondary prevention. The goal of the Chicago REACH 2010-Lawndale Health Promotion Project is to eliminate disparities related to CVD and diabetes experienced by African Americans and Latinos in two contiguous Chicago neighborhoods using a community-based prevention approach. This article shares findings from the Phase 1 participatory planning process and discusses the implications these findings and lessons learned may have for programs aiming to reduce health disparities in multiethnic communities. The triangulation of data sources from the planning phase enriched interpretation and led to more creative and feasible suggestions for programmatic interventions across the four levels of the ecological framework. Multisource data yielded useful information for program planning and a better understanding of the cultural differences and similarities between African Americans and Latinos.

A Qualitative Inquiry Into the Community and Programmatic Dimensions Associated With Successful Implementation of Church-Based Diabetes Prevention Programs

“…2,3 Over the last 15 years, community-based screening and educational intervention programs have become widely accepted approaches to address the health and mental health disparities in African American communities. [4][5][6][7][8] More recently, the involvement of the church has become a core component of such interventions because of the central role it plays in the black community. 5,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Community and church-based health promotion programs have been shown to successfully reduce weight through dietary modification and increased physical exercise, thereby reducing the risk for future type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease among participants.…”

CHOICE: Choosing Health Options In Chronic Care Emergencies

“…A small number of papers examined cultural, political and economic factors. 196,207,215,221,224,225 The most consistent finding was that patients used unscheduled care in response to exacerbations of their illness. Unscheduled care use was seen to complement routine care and self-management.…”

“…Hsu-Hage, 220 Jeon et al, 221 Jerant et al, 222 Kielmann et al, 223 Levy et al, 224 Malone, 225 Townsend et al…”

“…[216][217][218][219]221,222,[224][225][226][227][228] The majority of studies were from the USA (n = 11 190,199,200,208,213,215,217,218,222,224,225 ), Australia (n = 12 136,155,189,[191][192][193][194][195]206,220,221,227 ) or the UK (n = 12 110,196,197,202,[209][210][211]216,219,223,226,228 ). The most frequently studied types of unscheduled care were attendance at the ED and/or EHA.…”

Culturally Responsive Health Promotion in Puerto Rican Communities: A Structuralist Approach

“…The two disciplines could be brought closer in addressing the limitations of existing theoretical and methodological frameworks for cultural assessments by using several strategies mentioned in our literature review. The closest tool to the holistic structuralist approach in health promotion is the social ecological framework, in which individual behaviors change within the relational dynamics among individuals, their networks, and other structures in their community (Baker et al, 1997;Levy et al, 2004;Minkler, 1999). The need to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities requires that applications of the socioecological model give more attention to the influence of cultural structures in each sphere of analysis or influence.…”