Oral

Community collaboration, strategic alliances, cross-disciplinary coordination, advocacy, strategic coordination of resources, and public policy development and analysis are all components of a strategic approach to addressing health inequities. Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) is a community-based strategic planning process that helps communities prioritize public health issues; identify resources for addressing them; and develop, implement, and evaluate health improvement plans. While MAPP, which includes the National Public Health Performance Standards (NPHPS) local public health system assessment, encourages communities to identify and address health disparities, several communities have looked to Unnatural Causes as a means for more intentionally incorporating social justice into their process. Using Unnatural Causes as a tool for initiating dialogue, MAPP communities have moved from simply examining disparities to more formally addressing the root causes of inequities. Whether using the documentary series as a platform for discussion about the community’s Vision, or as a way to engage youth, MAPP and Unnatural Causes can be used together to help communities understand health equity concepts, identify local health inequities, and take action. During this session, presenters will introduce the MAPP process, highlight how MAPP can apply social justice concepts, and share how together MAPP and Unnatural Causes can initiate conversation about health inequities and incite action.

Session Objectives: 1. Describe the components of a robust MAPP process 2. Discuss how MAPP can apply social justice concepts 3. Explain how Unnatural Causes can strengthen the social justice components of MAPP