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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Michelle L. Cathorall, BS, CHES¹, Carla P. Lopez, BS¹, Juliette Muellner, BA¹, Brian Pedersen, BA¹, La Toya M. White, BA¹, Elizabeth Bruch, MSW², Mandy Carter³, Kate Shirah, MPH¹, and Eugenia Eng, MPH, DrPH¹. (1) Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina, School of Public Health CB #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, 919-806-8573, mcathorall@unc.edu, (2) Lesbian Resource Center, PO Box 1589, Durham, NC 27702, (3) Co-Founder of Southerners On New Ground, PO Box 268, Durham, NC 27702

Background/Purpose: For public health professionals, entering any community other than their own to establish equitable partnerships in research and practice requires a complex skill set. An opportunity for gaining these skills is through learning how to conduct an Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis (AOCD). The purpose of this paper is to present findings on comprehensive student training in conducting an AOCD process with and the subsequent affect on a community of lesbian and bisexual women (LBW) in a southern town.

Methods: Five students, guided by two members of an LBW community in a southern town, conducted the AOCD over a seven-month period. Coursework, including an LGBT workshop, paralleled data collection on assets and needs of everyday life for the LBW community. Data sources were: participant observations; 36 interviews with community members and service providers; and secondary data. Analysis consisted of coding and retrieving text from interview transcriptions to reveal patterns of meaning in the strengths and areas of need represented in the data. Findings were the focus of a community forum to determine next action steps.

Results/Implications: Gaining entrée revealed: the “invisibility” of LBW communities to outsiders; doubts about the town's lesbian-friendly reputation; and internal divisions manifested through race, age, sexual identity, and social class. Community assets are: the ability to come together and presence of strong LBW leaders. Through AOCD, students were guided in managing conflict and addressing contradictions inherent to developing equitable, inclusive, and meaningful partnerships.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to

• Define AOCD, its history, and critical elements.;
• Examine the role of AOCD for public health training.; and
• Articulate two implications for MPH-level competencies that relate to public health practitioner/researcher-community and intra-community relations.

Keywords: MPH Curricula, Assessments

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No