290225
Realizing It can happen (R.I.C.H.): Responding to social determinants of health through job training
Monday, November 4, 2013
: 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Terrinieka Williams, PhD,
Population Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Nan Astone, PhD,
Popualation Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
In this presentation, we describe a research project collaboratively developed and designed by the Center for Urban Families (CFUF) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health (CAH). Socioeconomic factors represent the strongest and most consistent predictors of health. Research suggests that the probability of entering poverty is much higher in young adulthood than in any other stage of life. The goal of this collaborative project was to enhance the CFUF's capacity to more efficiently and effectively document the impact of STRIVE, a four-week long job readiness program, on its young adult clients and those closest to their clients. Life history interviews were conducted with 40 individuals: 20 STRIVE graduates (ages 18-24) and one other important person in each graduate's life. Less than half of the participants had completed high school and many had also been incarcerated. Qualitative findings highlight the negative role that familial instability, drug use, poor educational opportunities, parental absence, and violence played in the lives of STRIVE graduates. Interviewees noted that the STRIVE program transformed program graduates by building self-efficacy in addition to offering specific skills to increase employability. The STRIVE program also encouraged participants to view their lived experiences as motivational tools rather than barriers to success. This approach has had lasting and far-reaching effects on graduates' personal well-being and professional potential. In conclusion, findings suggest that job training programs can serve as vehicles for addressing the emotional, economic and social conditions related to health among youth from low resource environments and overly stressed communities.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Learning Objectives:
Describe how community and academic partners worked together to develop research materials and methods.
Explain the major findings from this community-university partnership.
Discuss the relevance and utility of incorporating life skills into job training programs for young people from low resource environments and overly stressed communities.
Keyword(s): Community Programs, Labor
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am committed to developing, conducting and evaluating effective community prevention interventions for urban, underserved adolescents and their families. I have extensive experience conducting community-based participatory research and using qualitative methods to address issues with African American young people and their families.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
