Addressing Health Disparities among Latinos and African Americans: Systems Approach of the CEED@CHICAGO Coalition

Most efforts in addressing health and social disparities have focused on individual interventions. We describe current efforts in engaging stakeholders in community and system change to address disparities through community and system change. The Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Disparities (CEED) @Chicago developed a multi-sector partnership that through systems thinking developed action plans to address these inequities, initially related to food access and health literacy. The CEED is part of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's REACH US program. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative evaluation tools were developed to assess the CEED@Chicago Coalition's effectiveness and impact of coalition activities. Results. The coalition has been effective in engaging new sectors. First, the CEED brought together community-based and faith-based organizations to develop systems change through capacity-building with community health workers to address health literacy. Food access work involved the development of partnerships with food policy councils, academics, government agencies, and urban agriculture organizations and mobilizing policy-makers through urban agriculture tours, which focused attention on local ordinances creating barriers to access and employment. Indicators of food retailers were assessed and proposed to licensing and public health organizations. The presentation will examine the process and provide specific outcomes. Conclusion. To address social justice issues and improve the health and social well being of communities of color, it is critical to engage and leverage sectors that are not traditionally involved in public health and social policy issues.