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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH, Shanda Diehl, and Lyndia Vold, MS. Spokane Regional Health District, 1101 West College Avenue, Spokane, WA 99201, 509-324-1501, kthorburn@spokanecounty.org
Community health assessments by the Spokane (Washington) Regional Health District repeatedly revealed that poverty was a major contributor to health disparities. Yet questions about the prevalence of poverty and disagreements about effective approaches to minimize poverty within the greater Spokane region generated controversy among the community sectors that needed to develop strategies, i.e., business and economic development, social services, and policymakers. Because of its impact on the health of the community, the Health District undertook a year-long assessment of poverty within its jurisdiction in 2001. This paper describes the process that the Health District used to engage all stakeholders to develop a consensus economic measure of poverty based on cost of basic needs. We present the results of the Spokane County poverty assessment, which also highlighted the social factors contributing to poverty. A newly elected mayor of Spokane made elimination of poverty a major plank of his policy agenda at the same time that the Health District undertook the poverty assessment. The assessment provided a baseline description of poverty for the mayor’s initiatives in economic development, support for social services, policy development and community organizing. The Health District’s broad-based community consensus approach to assessment provided the foundation for the mayor’s comprehensive efforts to improve the status of the region’s poor.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Assessments, Poverty
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.