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173101 Community of wellness: A coalition impacting social, political and economic contributors to health disparities in one community

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 1:30 PM

Juana Ballesteros, RN BSN MPH , The Greater Humboldt Park Community of Wellness, Chicago, IL
Mayra Hernandez , Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, Chicago, IL
José Lopez, PhD (ABD) , Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
Eliud Medina , Humboldt Park Empowerment Partnership, Near Northwest Neighborhood Network, Chicago, IL
Miguel Morales, BA , CO-OP Humboldt Park, Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
Irma Pacheco , Centro San Bonifacio, Chicago, IL
Steven Whitman, PhD , Sinai Urban Health Institute, Sinai Health System, Chicago, IL
Xichel A. Woods, MHA , Community of Wellness, Chicago, IL
Miguel Palacio, MA , Association House of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Madeline Roman-Vargas, MA , Humboldt Park Vocational Education Center of Wright College, Chicago, IL
Multimedia recording
In 2003, public health researchers at the Sinai Urban Health Institute conducted the largest door to door health survey in Chicago's history. The survey revealed first-time insights into health disparities and perceived health status of Puerto Rican and Mexican communities. Survey results intensified community leaders' interest in staking our claim to our community. Health was defined as a critical element in community development, and coalition-building began in 2004.

The Community of Wellness is a coalition of 30 local organizations and part of Local Initiatives Support Corporation/Chicago New Communities Program. Community of Wellness members includes community residents, public health researchers, social service organizations, a vocational education center, community health centers, and hospitals.

Taking a community organizing and community building approach, the Community of Wellness has impacted social, political and economic contributors to our community's health disparities. We have undertaken methods to evaluate the effectiveness of our coalition as an intervention in Humboldt Park. In addition to process indicators such as member participation, we track measurable outcomes in the following categories:

o Social – Attendance at health outreach events, Participation in peer-based health promotion programs.

o Political - Public advocacy efforts, Influencing legislation, engagement of local and state-level politicians

o Economic - Education and career advancement, Public budgets, New revenue to member organizations

o Health impact of specific projects - BMI, Nutritional intake, Physical activity levels.

We will present health conditions in Humboldt Park, the characteristics of the Community of Wellness, the results we have achieved, insights, conclusions and future perspectives.

Learning Objectives:
o Define, implement and communicate outcome measures of successful coalitions o Apply principles of successful coalition building to local health disparity reduction efforts o Promote effective, sustained collaborations between public health researchers and community coalitions o Communicate effectively with funders when seeking financial support for health coalitions

Keywords: Community Development, Community Capacity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: The content I am presenting is in no way impacted by any commercial entity. I have no personal financial relationship with any commercial entity
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.

See more of: Success Stories: Community-Based Public Health Efforts to Inform Politics, Policy, and Public Health (e.g., Social and Environmental Justice)
See more of: Community-Based Public Health Caucus