Assessing Prevention Activities in a Metropolitan Community: Methods and Lessons Learned from a Resource Inventory


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

4082.0: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - Board 7

Abstract #110750

Darcell P. Scharff, PhD¹, Daniel Gentry, PhD, MHA², Eric Armbrecht³, Tonie Covelli, MPH⁴, Kira McKinney, MPH⁵, and Rob Fruend, MBA⁵. (1) School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, The Salus Center, 3545 Lafayette Avenue Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63104, 314-977-4009, scharff@slu.edu, (2) Associate Professor of Health Administration and Policy, Saint Louis University School of Public Health, Center for HIV/STD Policy Studies, 3545 Lafayette Ave., Salus Ctr. Ste. 300, St. Louis, MO 63104, (3) InnEval LLC, 3525 Watson, St. Louis, MO 63139, (4) InnEval, LLC, 3525 Watson, St. Louis, MO 63139, (5) Assistant Director of Strategic Planning, St. Louis Regional Health Commission, 1113 Mississippi, St. Louis, MO 63104

The St. Louis Regional Health Commission was established in 2001 to improve the health care delivery system for people who are medically underserved. The Commission's goals are to improve access and delivery of health services, reduce disparities and improve health outcomes. To inform its work, the Commission requested the assistance of a local research firm that partnered with the School of Public Health to understand the breadth and depth of prevention services available to the 1.3 million citizens of St. Louis City and County. Initially, over 4000 organizations were identified to be included in the study. Organizations were health, medical, social-service, educational or faith-based organizations that: 1) provide direct primary and secondary prevention services; 2) facilitate, coordinate, plan or advocate for primary and secondary prevention services; or 3) provide funding for primary or secondary prevention services. A final sample of 910 agencies was requested to participate. Unique surveys designed to inventory prevention services were developed for community-based organizations, schools, places of worship, hospitals and health centers, funders, and MC+ organizations. Intensive follow-up for data collection was conducted resulting in responses ranging from 70% for community-based organizations to 32% for places of worship. A number of important lessons were learned during all phases of the project. Lessons revolve around partnership development/maintenance, organization of work, project design, and methodology. This presentation will describe the project processes to inform others who are planning to undertake similar projects. Emphasis will be placed on the methods used and the lessons learned throughout the project.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to

1)describe the methods used in this community prevention services resource inventory;
2)list 3-5 lessons learned from this project;
3)identify 2-3 approaches to conducting a resource inventory that could be used in their community based on the lessons learned.

Keywords: Community Preventive Services, Community-Based Health Promotion

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.

Community Partnerships: Working Together to Improve Health

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA