 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Ami M. Shah, MPH1, Cynthia L. Williams, MS2, Jaime Delgado3, and Steven Whitman, PhD1. (1) Sinai Health System, Sinai Urban Health Institute, California Ave at 15th St., K439, Chicago, IL 60608, 773-257-6569, shaam@sinai.org, (2) Sinai Health System, Sinai Community Institute, 2653 W. Ogden, Chicago, IL 60608, (3) School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, 1603 W. Taylor, Chicago, IL 60612
The elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in health is one of the overarching goals of Healthy People 2010. One strategy to reduce and eliminate these disparities is to involve community members and stakeholders in research in order to gather appropriate local health data needed for this endeavor.
A multidisciplinary committee of community leaders and researchers came together in Chicago to design a community health survey. The process proved most effective in determining health priorities and understanding complex issues specific to each community area. The committee defined health and identified the social determinants and risk factors associated with recognized health conditions in these communities. Overall, community participation enhanced data dissemination and ensured the translation of research findings into public health practice.
The health survey comprised of over 450 variables, many of which were community inspired. It included culturally sensitive and nationally comparable indicators of health. The survey was administered face-to-face to 1700 randomly selected households of six racially and ethnically diverse community areas in Chicago.
Our presentation will describe the benefits of community participation in research. We will highlight various health measures that would not have otherwise been obtained and present the social context of several prevalence rates from the survey in comparison to state and national figures. Finally, we will demonstrate how these data are being translated into practice through innovative community-based interventions and improved policies for the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities and overall improved health.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Research, Health Disparities
Related Web page: www.sinai.org/urban/originalresearch/index.asp
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.