198414 Collaborative assessment of The Pointing African Americans Towards Health (PAATH) II Community Coalition: Evaluating the ripple effect of the PAATH

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Tabia K. Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH , Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, Atlanta, GA
Shelia Lenoir , Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated, Atlanta, GA
Ruby Tatum-Wallace, PhD , Jarre Counseling and Community Services, LLC, Lithonia, GA
Jennie C. Trotter, MEd , Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated, Atlanta, GA
Nastassia Laster, MPH , Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, Atlanta, GA
Nicole Clark, BA , Columbia University, New York, NY
Ayaba Logan, MPH , Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, Atlanta, GA
Background: Youth substance abuse and violence are national public health priorities that require evidence-based, community approaches. The Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated partnered with The Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (MSM-PRC) in 2008 to evaluate its Pointing African Americans Toward Health Community Coalition. This presentation will detail evaluation partnership strategies and outcomes to address substance abuse and violence among African American youth ages 12 to 14 in Atlanta, Georgia, Zip code 30318 (30318).

Methods: The MSM-PRC conducted a demographic profile of 30318 community characteristics related to youth substance abuse and violence. Key informant interviews with local stakeholders and youth were used to gather perspectives and recommendations on strategies to employ in response to demographic profile data.

Results: Data presented to the Coalition resulted in the prioritization of mentoring and alternative education goals. Mentoring strategies included development of a mentor consortium and resource guide to support at-risk families. Parent, youth and stakeholder surveys, pre-tested by the Coalition, provided a foundation for a proposal to the Atlanta School Board highlighting benefits, barriers and recommendations for consideration in efforts to support at-risk youth and families in the alternative school system.

Discussion: Effective public health planning initiatives are built on collaborations among local leaders, grassroots organizations, and evaluators that reflect community priorities, experiences and recommendations used to shape health-promoting policies and practices. Partnerships built on reciprocal learning on the best evaluation and community engagement approaches represent promising models for effective community planning.

Learning Objectives:
1. Detail evaluation approaches to coalition-driven community planning 2. Explain the roles of critical partners in evaluation of community coalitions 3. Discuss processes, outcomes and impact of The Pointing African Americans Towards Health Community Coalition

Keywords: Evaluation, Community Health Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am Director of Evaluation at the Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center and work collaboratively with community-based organizations to evaluate their research, service and training activities. I hold a Master's of Public Health and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Public Health with a concentration in Community and Family Health. I evaluate The Atlanta Clinical and Translational Service Institute Community Engagement and Research Program designed, in part, to engage academicians and community is collaborative research. I provides evaluation or capacity building for programs addressing infrastructure development, health outcomes and service delivery in the areas of maternal and child health, substance abuse, mental health, HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy. I led assessment of the Pfizer Foundation Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative and the Southeastern Collaborative Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Health Disparities. I am Chairperson for The National Prevention Research Center Evaluation Advisory Committee. REFERENCES FOR PREVIOUS/RELATED WORK 1. Henry Akintobi, T. & Yancey, E. (2008). Processes and outcomes of an academic/private/community-based partnership to improve evaluation capacities of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention programs in the Southeastern United States. Evaluation 2008, Denver: CO. 2. Mayberry, R., Daniels, P., Henry Akintobi, T., Yancey, E., Berry, J., & Clark, N. (2007). Community-Based Organizations’ capacity to plan, implement, and evaluate success. Journal of Community Health, 33(5). 3. Berry, J., Henry Akintobi, T., Yancey, E., Daniels, P., Mayberry, R. & Clark, N. (2007). Partnership to build evaluation capacity and enhance programmatic success. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Prevention and Health Promotion Summit: Washington, D.C. 4. Henry Akintobi, T. (2006). Community-Campus Partnerships to Gauge Success of Public Health Interventions: Opportunities, Challenges and Preliminary Findings. Twenty-Second Annual McKnight and Tenth Annual Graduate School Conference: Tampa, Florida.
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.

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