The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

3303.1: Monday, November 11, 2002 - Table 9

Abstract #49235

Using participatory action research to develop a church-based resource nurse program: The Jordan Grove experience

Rita K. Spina, PhD1, Vanessa Jeffries2, Christine Brooks3, Cindy Bucy2, Karen Moore, MPH4, and Scott D. Rhodes, PhD, MPH, CHES5. (1) Chatham Communities In Action, 12 Fearrington Post, Pittsboro, NC 27312, 919.932.3132, rkspina@mindspring.com, (2) Chatham County Health Department, PO Box 130, Pittsboro, NC 27312, (3) Chatham Communities In Action, Jordan Grove - Us In Action, 1401 N. Ross Avenue, Siler City, NC 27444, (4) Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, 323 Rosenau Hall, CB #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440, (5) Department of Health Behavior and Education, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, 319D Rosenau Hall, Campus Box #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Church-based health promotion programs are common strategies in community health education. However, few programs use participatory action research and build on existing community capacity to develop, implement and evaluate their interventions. Jordan Grove, a close-knit, rural, African-American community in central North Carolina, is an exceptional case study of how communities, agencies and universities can come together as equal partners to identify and address community health issues.

Findings from an Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis completed in 1998 indicated that while Jordan Grove had significant assets and strengths, the needs of the large elderly population were not being met. Building on existing partnerships established through two WK Kellogg Foundation-funded initiatives, the community came together to explore strategies to meet identified needs. Chatham Communities In Action (CCIA), a partnership with an 8-year history of collaboration and consisting of representatives from the local health department, community-based organizations, neighborhood groups, churches and the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, was awarded a three-year, $60,000 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to establish a church-based community-resource nurse program.

Currently in its second year of funding for the community-resource nurse program, the CCIA is fostering an expanded coalition of churches in the area to adapt the model to meet their community-specific needs through participatory approaches. This presentation will describe the process by which CCIA came together to identify needs and determine priorities, plan and implement community-driven intervention strategies, and evaluate efforts.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the presentation, the participant will be able to

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Elderly

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.

Distinctive Campus-Community Joint Ventures: Profits in Services, Learning and Health

The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA