Disparities Mobilization through Community-Based Participatory Research: An Asset-Based Approach for Fostering Public and Political Will to Effect Decision Making

Community engagement can foster a sense of shared commitment and responsibility, which can facilitate collective action and policy change through partnerships. To tackle health disparities it is necessary to identify community assets through grass-roots community engagement and collaborative efforts. Communities host a number of stakeholders, including: local/municipal governmental agencies, business/industry, health, educational and social service organizations, civic organizations, grassroots coalitions and neighborhood groups. Together, these entities define community infrastructures and influence local public and political awareness and action around health issues. Understanding the characteristics of these multiple sectors and nurturing partnerships is necessary to address the many health issues affecting communities. This requires identifying community readiness and assets across sectors, understanding how communities define health disparities, and detailing community concerns about health/care, the effects of health disparities, and community capacity for action. Utilizing a strengths-based, participatory approach, partnerships can be fostered and opportunities for creating broader coalitions to effect decision making can be engaged. .

Community-based research conducted in Massachusetts and developed for study in Connecticut, will be presented. There are two integrated components, a theoretical model for mobilizing public and political will to build a multi-sectorial coalition to tackle health disparities through a process of community engagement; and the methodological approach developed for participatory action-oriented work. This work employed a mixed-methods approach that entailed a qualitative assessment and a quantitative analysis. Indicators used and quantitative measures designed to assess community readiness and assets across sectors for disparities mobilization will be presented. The research process and findings will be discussed.