Transforming epidemiologic data into a community action agenda

In a recent study of a Puerto Rican community in Chicago, the Sinai Urban Health Institute documented diabetes prevalence and mortality rates that were three times the reported US rates. Several months before journal publication in December 2006, findings were shared with community-based organizations (CBO's) and leaders that participated in the study. Community representatives asserted that these devastating findings should not be announced without proposing some type of immediate public health action. A city-wide Task Force composed of CBO's, NGO's, healthcare providers, and researchers was formed to produce a plan for amelioration of this huge burden of morbidity and mortality.

Both the journal article and the Task Force plan were shared with the broader community and released to the media together at a well-attended (> 200 people) community event. This in turn has led to a rapid and vigorous community response, as virtually every elected official from the area, every community-based organization and many professional groups have sought to participate in this unfunded collaborative effort. Such enthusiastic and wide-spread participation is generally viewed positively, but is not without disadvantages and risks.

We will discuss how epidemiological findings have been turned over to the community, how community representatives have responded, and the subsequent response of academics and health professionals. Although the ultimate impact of this process is not yet known, we can share the process by which statistical data have been transformed into a robust community organizing effort.