173361 Adressing the challenges of Alzheimer's disease by creating community based participatory rsearch oportunities: An examination of a faith based, academic and governmental collaboration in Houston, TX

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Janice M. Paul, PhD , Bureau of Health Planning and Evaluation, Houston Department of Health and Human Services, Houston, TX
Janet Araba Aikins, PhD, MPH , Bureau of Health Planning and Evaluation, Houston Department of Health and Human Services, Houston, TX
Linda Lloyd, PhD , School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX
Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) offers an alternative method to research by encouraging active and equal partnerships between community organizations, academia, and at times, different levels of government. One of the most beneficial aspects of this type of research is that investigators are able to respond to complex health concerns using a team approach, by pooling financial and human resources. In order to address the multifaceted issues surrounding Alzheimer's disease (AD), the city of Houston/Harris County Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS), the University of Texas School of Public Health (UTSPH), and African-American churches in the Houston, TX area, collaborated to address this increasingly significant public health issue. In Fall 2007, the HDHHS released a publication called The Book of Alzheimer's for African-American Churches that was distributed to African-American churches and individuals throughout Houston/Harris County. This publication helped create awareness about AD in this community, and it was revealed that there was a great need to educate the African-American community about the disease. The response to this need resulted in a partnership between the aforementioned entities. The focus of this presentation will be to detail techniques that were used to incorporate CBPR into the development of the group's research. Additionally, audience members will be able to identify potential community partners and collaborations that will provide reciprocity to all parties involved, and ideas will be shared that highlight how each partner can utilize its unique resources to address AD in the African-American community.

Learning Objectives:
1.List five important elements of CBPR that can be used to forge relationships between public, private, and faith based entities in order to address AD 2.Develop a strategic plan for creating and maintaining relationships between diverse organizations when time and human resources are limited 3.Discuss how each organization can achieve positive outcomes with CBPR when each organization has disparate goals, missions, and objectives

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I developed a book about Alzheimer's disease, developed relationships with the faith community in Houston, TX to distribute the book, and currently work with staff at the Houston Department of Health and Human Services and University of Texas School of Public to collect data.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.