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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jessie B. Williams¹, Mary Ann Zizzo¹, Leslie S. Aldrich, MPH², and Rosina T. Bowman¹. (1) Community Benefit Program, Massachusetts General Hospital Revere Health Care Center, 300 Ocean Avenue, Revere, MA 02151, 781-485-6132, jbwilliams@partners.org, (2) Community Benefit Program/Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114

In Revere, Massachusetts, Revere CARES, a substance abuse prevention coalition supported by Massachusetts General Hospital Community Benefits, brought parents together to address the lack of after-school and out of school activities for youth in their community. The Coalition's strategic plan included the development of alternative activities as well as community awareness and policy strategies. Between October 1999 and July 2000, nine parents and three providers convened to develop and implement a participatory action assessment of out-of-school resources and barriers. Participants were trained in community assessment methods, sampling, survey administration, and qualitative data analysis. They developed a structured survey, collected 166 face-to-face or telephone surveys, and analyzed the data. The report they generated initiated a comprehensive community response to building an after-school infrastructure that has been championed by the Mayor and all local after-school providers. Five years later, the Mayor chairs a committee of after-school providers who have increased after-school slots, brought services to every school in the system and have begun building a community fund to sustain out-of-school services over time. Of the original members of the assessment group, one became a Coalition staff member and others remain active in the Coalition.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Learn how to use participatory action research to mobilize local residents to address community health problems.
• Understand how resident participation in health assessments leads to community readiness to address institutional and policy changes.

Keywords: Community Planning, Community Preventive Services

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered