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Recorded presentation

Nina Wallerstein, DrPH¹, Lorenda Belone, MPH¹, Audrey Solimon, MPH¹, Bruce Garcia², John Oetzel, PhD³, and Bonnie Duran, DrPH¹. (1) Masters in Public Health Program, University of New Mexico, MSC 09 5060, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, 505 272 4173, asolimon@salud.unm.edu, (2) Tribal Administration, San Felipe Pueblo, 5 Black Mesa Loop, San Felipe Pueblo, NM 87001, (3) Department of Communication and Journalism, University of New Mexico, MSC03 2240, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131

Community capacity focuses on assets to address critical health issues. The purpose of this CBPR study was to develop an instrument to measure cultural and community capacities within American Indian communities. Methods. An instrument was developed using a CBPR process (involving a university research team, tribal advisory boards, and an intertribal organization) in three phases. In Phase I, members of two Pueblo tribes in the Southwest participated in focus groups and interviews about community and cultural capacity in order to operationalize the dimensions of capacity. In Phase II, the university research team worked collaboratively with two other tribes to develop a preliminary survey instrument. In Phase III, 232 community members were randomly selected from one of the tribes to complete the survey. This paper combines a report on the CBPR process with San Felipe Pueblo and the factor analysis of a new tribal instrument. Results. Confirmatory factor analysis verified eight subscales of capacity: a) elders, b) sense of community, c) language and culture, d) knowledge of cultural history, e) communication, f) critical reflection, g) women, and h) youth. Further, the CBPR process provided strengths and challenges including maintaining the partnership, collaboratively developing the instrument, training tribal interviewers, collaborative data analysis; and use of results for the tribe's first strategic planning process. Conclusion. Community capacity represents a culturally valid and appropriate approach for understanding the health of American Indian communities. Future research should investigate its predictive power of individual and community health and the added value of CBPR to capacity building.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify dimensions of community capacity appropriate for tribal communities.
• Recognize the issues of collaborative data analysis and use of findings for tribal strategic planning.
• Identify the different perspectives on CBPR from tribal and university stakeholders.

Keywords: Indian Self-Determination, Community-Based Partnership

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation