 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Shannon Zenk, MPH, School of Public Health, Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan, 1420 Washington Heights, Room M5511 SPH II, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, 734-936-1299, szenk@umich.edu, Amy Schulz, PhD, Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, 5134 SPH II, 1420 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, William J. Ridella, MPH, MBA, Community Heath Services, Detroit Health Department, 1151 Taylor St, Rm 308C, Detroit, MI 48202, Pat Miller, Southwest Counseling and Development Services, 1700 Waterman, Detroit, MI 48209, Zachary Rowe, BS, Friends of Parkside, P.O. Box 13168, Detroit, MI 48213, and Srimathi Kannan, PhD, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health Human Nutrition Program, 1420 Washington Heights, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
This presentation will focus on the engagement of representatives from community-based organizations, health care providers, and researchers based in academic institutions in the design of a neighborhood observational checklist (NOC) to record aspects of the social and physical environments within which HEP survey participants reside. We will describe multiple strategies used to solicit participation from community representatives and key informants and to ensure the relevance of data collected to city planning and maintenance efforts, including focus groups with community residents, conversations with Neighborhood City Hall representatives, attendance at police precinct meetings, and discussions with representatives from the Department of Public Works. We will discuss multiple uses of this checklist, including use of the data collected in basic research linking social and physical environments to health outcomes, as a tool for community groups to monitor change (or lack thereof) in observed conditions within local areas over time, and as a device to engage policymakers and city officials in community change efforts. Finally, we will discuss advantages of utilizing a participatory process in the design of a neighborhood observation checklist and challenges in collecting neighborhood observational data for community change efforts.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Participatory Research
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.