In order to reduce the disparate burden of chronic disease morbidity and mortality borne by low-income and minority populations, research and intervention programs must combine the technical expertise of academic researchers with the experiences and knowledge of community providers and members of the target populations. Low-income women are at high risk for developing major chronic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiac disease and hypertension. Nutrition, physical activity and other behavioral changes have proven effective in reducing these risks, but have not been fully incorporated into the lifestyles of low-income women. The postpartum period provides an opportunity for intensive education of women since this is already a time of transition and frequent engagement in the health care system. Our intervention builds on existing networks of care through WIC programs based in urban community health centers and on the EFNEP educational model. Our project also builds on an existing community-academic collaboration for conducting research related to women's health in community health center sites. Our current project involves a complex network of collaboration : community-academic, state-federal, WIC-EFNEP. We will present principles for collaboration among multiple sectors, including strategies for developing infrastructure and communication. Theories and practical issues for conducting community-based participatory action research will be reviewed. Methods for documenting and evaluating the process of collaboration will be presented for application in a variety of settings.
Learning Objectives: 1.Participants will learn principles for conducting community-based research 2. Participants will learn successful strategies for developing collaborations among multiple institutions and sectors 3. Participants will learn methods for documenting and evaluating the process of collaboration that can be applied to a variety of community-academic partnerships
Keywords: Community Collaboration, Chronic Diseases
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: National Institutes of Health, WIC, EFNEP
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.