Community mobilization: Community leadership academies

Awareness of the magnitude of variance in heath outcomes among racial groups has increased. Unfortunately, effective policies addressing these health inequities remain elusive and Latinos continue to lag behind other groups in important health indicators. This presentation describes the development of the Latino Health Collaborative, a trans-disciplinary coalition focused on eliminating health disparities in San Bernardino, California, where approximately 50% of the 1.8 million residents self-identify as Latinos/Hispanic. The Collaborative has implemented Community Leadership Academies, community-based training and grassroots leadership incubators, addressing place-based health and social issues while developing a community coalition of service providers and community members to address community needs. Participants engage in a systematic curriculum covering a variety of health topics and advocacy training, typically in cohorts of 10-15 members and in 2-3 hour weekly sessions during 10-12 consecutive weeks. This action-oriented model has enhanced the capacity of communities to utilize participatory and solution-focused processes to take inventory of assets and resources, interpret and apply findings, and develop solutions that have broad-based community support. However, the focus is not only on the outcome, but also on the process itself, as a mobilizing force while strengthening levels of social capital among local community members, contributing to sustained transformation. The presentation highlights: a) outcomes, b) the process for integrating Latino communities in decision-making that produced community-specific policies and initiatives to reduce health disparities, and c) identifies factors for successful partnerships with Latino communities and organizations.