The Healthy Cities movement was born out of the understanding that health is determined, in large part, by the social, physical and economic context in which people live. Promoting a "broad definition of health" is an important objective of the Healthy Cities movement, along with establishing intersectoral collaboration and resident participation in decision-making. One aspect of this broad definition of health is the recognition of the role that social relations and living conditions play in the health of community members. The authors present an approach to assessing this dimension of a "broad definition of health" among persons participating in 20 local Healthy Cities and Communities projects in California. A ranking of five determinants of health in the form of a paired comparison activity was included in a coalition member survey (n=338, response rate 71.9%), administered in the first and third year of 3-year Healthy Cities and Communities projects. Consensus analysis, using the software ANTHROPAC, reveals that conflicting views exist among members during year one, with some members emphasizing the role of social determinants and others emphasizing the role of health care and genetic predispositions. Year three data will allow the evaluators to assess the degree of change in normative ideas regarding the determinants of health, and differences by communities.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to: 1) use a systematic data collection procedure for assessing perceptions of the relative importance of a set of items within a cultural domain (perceptions of the relative importance of specific determinants of population health) 2)Identify data analysis methods and software which can be useful in assessing social norms (normative beliefs/ideas within a population).
Keywords: Evaluation, Culture
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
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.