The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

4027.0: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - Board 9

Abstract #73033

Partnering with community health workers: Participatory research in the development and implementation of health intervention programs

Leslie D. Kaufman, PhD, Bureau of Family Health, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2 Lafayette Street, 18th floor, box 34A, New York, NY 10007, 212.442.1755, lkaufman@health.nyc.gov

When organizations design health promotion interventions, they often base their decisions on large data sets that describe social problems at a macro level. Those data are certainly essential to conceptualizing programs. But, interventions ultimately take effect at local levels. Programs impact individuals: people who implement them, and people whom they serve. Data cannot account for crucial elements of individual experience, and reliance solely on them for program design can lead to programs that overlook complex social and cultural realities. It is therefore critical to involve community health workers in program development. They interact most closely with the community, and have practical experience to ensure programs are realistic and applicable to audiences and their communities.

In Healthy Start Brooklyn Initiative (HSB), a federally-funded program to improve infant and family health outcomes, health workers have played a crucial role in forging the program, defining audiences and interventions. HSB researchers have collaborated with them on the program evaluation, employing participatory research and ethnographic methods as well as conventional evaluation methodologies. That collaboration has provided rich understandings of HSB's implementation, participants' social and cultural practices, and the community's realities. Program research has also provided valuable insights into how staff’s perceptions about pregnancy, childbirth, and child rearing affect recruitment and interactions with participants. Overall, staff involvement in the evaluation has encouraged a greater stake in program goals, ensured ongoing program improvement, and expanded the expertise and knowledge of health workers and researchers alike. This paper explores that collaborative evaluation experience and its implications for program implementation and advancement.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Community Health Advisor, Participatory Research

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.

Issues of Importance to Community Health Workers

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA