222053 Show me the Money: Using Mini-grants to Engage Community Folks in Health Equity Work

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 2:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Lisa Tobe, MPH , Center for Health Equity, Louisville Metro Department of Public Health, Louisville, KY
     
Due to limited resources and restrictive timelines, local health departments have historically completed their community health planning processes absent of genuine community engagement. Perfunctory information-gathering activities such as discussions with community leaders, focus group conversation or data analysis often provide cursory insight for the ‘professionals' to determine appropriate interventions. Adhering to key aspects of Community-based participatory projects, the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, Center for Health Equity (CHE) established Building Community Capacity to Address Local Health Inequities. This innovative mini-grant program provides cash, training and technical assistance to community-based organizations in five diverse, low income communities to build their capacity to affect social change through environmental and policy strategies. Each agency submitted a plan detailing how they would enhance elements of the social, economic and community environment to decrease health inequities and improve health outcomes by engaging residents in taped health equity dialogues, community assessments and action planning. Grantees used monies to facilitate their participation in this community engagement process for expenses such as staff, stipends, transportation, childcare, food, and facilities rental. CHE provides technical assistance through: quarterly trainings on health equity, assets-based community development, action planning and policy development; coaching from CHE staff; direct connection with personnel from other city departments and additional resource development options. Staff will utilize dialogue transcripts and action planning results to help determine departmental policy and funding priorities. Participants will hear preliminary evaluation results from this pilot project and be provided with insights about replicating this within their organization.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe a health equity mini-grant process that enages community residents CBPR practices. Forumulate realistic objectives for a mini-grant program. Discuss advantages and challenges to using mini-grants as a community planning tool.

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Ms. Tobe serves as the Director for the Center for Health Equity and as such provides oversight to all of it's programs. Under her leadership, the Center: developed strategic inter and intra departmental partnerships, as well as collaborative relationships with tradition and non-traditional community partners; enhanced academic /community relationships; facilitated collaborative resource development and the integration of multiple level interventions geared towards sustainability systems changes; worked with staff to develop and deliver workshops, trainings, conference presentations for a diverse populations. As part of this position, co-taught a Ph.D. level Community-Based Participatory Research class at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences. Since its inception, CHE has established several core programs, including the Health Equity Speakers Series, the Healthy in a Hurry Corner Store Initiative, and a multi-tiered Health Equity Dialogue Initiative. The Dialogue Initiative works with two primary audiences: 1) public Health and Wellness and other Metro agency staff members to utilize health equity concepts/ ideology in their daily work assignments/activities; 2) community members to increase their knowledge about the key concepts of health equity and participate in social action to increase health equity locally. The community portion of the Initiative focuses on increasing capacity in five communities disproportionately impacted by health disparities through a multi-year commitment that includes: mini-grants; health equity dialogues; and action planning; as well organizational capacity building through technical assistance and training in policy advocacy, collaboration, sustainability and resource development. In the past year to accomplish this, CHE has held approximately 50 dialogues with diverse groups and trained 30 facilitators to hold more dialogues. Ms.Tobe helped developed the facilitator's guide, the facilitator's training and has served as a key trainer for this process. Before returning to Kentucky, Lisa founded and directed Women?s Mountain Passages, a non-profit which works with women and youth to connect with their strengths so they may improve their lives and facilitate social change in their communities through leadership development, advocacy and youth programs. In addition, she served as a consultant on diverse prevention efforts focusing on youth and domestic violence. As part of this work, Lisa worked with communities and organizations to assess violence issues; develop strategic, action and evaluation plans; facilitate systems changes; and enhance individual, organizational and community capacity to address diverse health issues. Lisa has worked for the Kentucky Commission on Women, served as a Health Education Consultant to the California Department of Health Services and worked as Program Chief, Director of Health Education for the Plumas County Public Health Agency. She has a BA in English Composition from DePauw University and obtained her Masters in Public Health from the University of North Carolina. Select publications and presentations include: Harris, T; Tobe, L. March 2008. We are One Health. Kentucky Public Health Association Plenary Session. Louisville, KY. Topp, R., Jacks, D.E., Wedig, R.T., Newman, J., Tobe, L. & Hollingsworth, A. (In Press) "REDUCING RISK FACTORS FOR CHILDHOOD OBESITY: THE TOMMIE SMITH YOUTH ATHLETIC INITIATIVE". Western Journal of Nursing Research. Tobe, L. December 2008. Using Policy Advocacy as a Method to Create Health Equity. CIGNA Healthy Communities Workshop: LasVegas, NV. Tobe, L. September 2008. Health Equity: More Than Just an Apple a Day. Neighborhood Places Annual Conference: Louisville, KY. Tobe, L. July 2008. Health Equity: Social Policy is Health Policy. Kentucky Commission on Women: Women?s Health Summit Plenary Session: Frankfort, KY. Tobe, L. March 2007. Using Oral History to Facilitate Social Change and Health with Female Survivors of Violence. Association for Women in Psychology: San Francisco, CA. Tobe, L. September 2005. Engaging Survivors in a Creative Healing Process ? Using Oral History and Drama to Promote Recovery. CPEDV Rural Regional Conference, Redding, CA. Tobe, L. 2006. Community-level change 1990-2003: Greater Reedsport (Oregon). Chapter in: Socioeconomic monitoring of Coos Bay District and three local communities. PNW-GTR-675. Portland, Oregon: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Portland, Oregon: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. pp. 96-108. McLain, R.; Tobe, L.; Charnley, S.; Donoghue, E., and Moseley, C. 2006. Socioeconomic monitoring of Coos Bay District and three local communities. PNW-GTR-675. Portland, Oregon: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 144 p. Charnley. S.; Donoghue, E., Suart, C., Dillingham, Buttolph, L., Kay, W., McLain, R.; Moseley, C., Phillips, R., and Tobe, L. 2006. Socioeconomic monitoring results, Volume III: rural communities and economies. Northwest forest plan: The first ten years ? socioeconomic monitoring interpretive report. PNW-GTR-649, Volume III. Portland, Oregon: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 206 p. Charnley. S.; Donoghue, E., Suart, C., Dillingham, Buttolph, L., Kay, W., McLain, R.; Moseley, C., Phillips, R., and Tobe, L. 2006. Socioeconomic monitoring results, Volume I: Key findings. Northwest forest plan: The first ten years ? socioeconomic monitoring interpretive report. PNW-GTR-649, Volume I. Portland, Oregon: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 26 p. Kusel, et.al. December 2002. Assessment of the Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative. Forest Community Research: Taylorsville, CA. Tobe, L. October 2000. STRONG: Lessons From the Field. Impacting Women?s Health Through Policy and Advocacy Conference. Women?s Health Leadership. Sacramento, CA. Tobe, L. February 2000. Popular Education Techniques for Lay Health Advisor Programs. Center For Sustainable Health Outreach Unity 2000 Conference. Keynote Speaker. Jackson, MS. Degree: MPH Year: 1997 Institution, City, State: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC Major Area of Study: Health Behavior, Health Education Degree: BA Year: 1990 Institution, City, State: DePauw University Major Area of Study: English Composition
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.

Back to: 4260.0: Money-Driven: Impacting the Public's Health