Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110208

Evelyn Gonzalez, MA¹, Susan M. Myers, MA, MPH², Venus Gines³, Linda Fleisher, MPH¹, and David Castro, JD⁴. (1) Atlantic Regional Office, Partnership Program, Cancer Information Service, A Program of the National Cancer Institute, 510 Township Line Road, 2nd Floor, Cheltenham, PA 19012, 215-728-3600, EM_Gonzalez@fccc.edu, (2) Community Health Division, I-LEAD, 6401 Penn Avenue Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, (3) Dia de la mujer Latina, 3605 Sandy Plains Rd., Suite 240, Marietta, GA 30066, (4) I-LEAD, Inc., 115 Petrie Avenue, Rosemont, PA 190000

Pennsylvania utilizes a community partnership approach to health planning, called State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). In 2002, SHIP issued a Special Report on the Health Status of Minorities in Pennsylvania. In alignment with SHIP, I-Lead, Inc., collaborated with the Atlantic Region of the NCI's Cancer Information Service (AR-CIS) to address Latino health through a pilot program in North Philadelphia. I-Lead Inc. and AR-CIS used a key SHIP principle of addressing the root or underlying causes of premature disease, death, and disability in a culturally competent manner. The model selected for this pilot was Día de la Mujer Latina (Día) a culturally competent Latino health festival which began in Atlanta Georgia in 1997. Two Día objectives were to (a) build a collaborative network of organizations serving Latinos and (b) to reach Latino families, specifically the medically underserved of North Philadelphia with health screenings, information and referrals. This presentation provides an overview of the program with subsequent presentations providing in-depth discussion of the partnership development process and the implementation of the program. Working in collaboration with local health districts, academic, pharmaceutical and corporate constituents, community and faith-based organizations we offered the following screenings free to charge: mammography with clinical breast exams, blood pressure, blood sugar and oral screenings. Workshops addressed breast health, domestic violence, smoking cessation, physical fitness and nutrition. Of the 275 attendees, 21.8% completed a general evaluation, 30 participants agreed to a follow-up survey assessing impact and changes in health behavior. An in-depth discussion will be provided in subsequent presentation.

Learning Objectives:

• Following this presentation, participants will be able to tailor an existing outreach program to address local needs through partnership.

Keywords: Latino Health, Community Capacity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation