Rhonda Sarnoff, DrPH, MSPH¹, Clarissa Hsu, PhD², Pamela M. Schwartz, MPH³, and Deborah Zippel¹. (1) Partnership for the Public's Health, California Public Health Institute, 505 14th St., Oakland, CA 94612, 510-302-3317, rsarnoff@partnershipph.org, (2) Center for Community Health and Evaluation, Group Health Community Foundation, 1730 Minor Avenue, Suite 1500, Seattle, WA 98101, (3) Center for Community Health and Evaluation, Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, One Kaiser Plaza, 22nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612

The importance of involving residents in improving the health of their communities is now a well-accepted theory. Translating the theory into practice is the challenge for practitioners. The 2003 IOM report, The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century”, recommends that public health governance be shared,

“The committee supports a type of shared governance through which the agenda for population health is truly “owned” by the population it serves. This entails providing opportunities for community input and leadership in planning and in funding decisions…”

The Partnerships for the Public’s Health (PPH), a statewide five-year initiative funded by the California Endowment, has supported the development of 39 partnerships between community collaboratives and 14 local health departments since 2000. The PPH experience provides a laboratory for learning about the practice of strengthening resident involvement in local public health systems. Partnerships entered the initiative with varying levels of resident participation and made variable progress. The purpose of this presentation is to review the strategies partnerships used to build community participation in local health improvements. The strategies are examined in light of the capacities and structures that need to be in place for communities and health departments to be ready to involve residents. The presentation will explore which strategies seemed more successful and the contextual factors contributing to that success. Based on this review of the PPH experience, guiding principles will be presented for public health practitioners to consider in their efforts to strengthen resident involvement in local public health systems.

Learning Objectives:

1.To present successful strategies for increasing resident involvment in community needs assessment, program and policy development for local health improvements. 2.To identify contextual factors associated with progress in developing resident involvement in community health activities.
• To suggest principles to guide the practice of resident involvement in the local public health system.

Keywords: Community Capacity, Community Involvement

Related Web page: www.partnershipph.org/

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.