Laying a foundation for addressing health disparities: Integrating community voice and traditional survey research

The dissemination of results in community-based participatory research is a crucial part of the participatory process, yet the quality and frequency of dissemination practices vary significantly.1 Even greater is the gap between traditional academic research and community members. Through an academic-community based organization partnership, lay African American residents of Milwaukee were recruited from the client base of a large social services nonprofit organization, the Social Development Commission (SDC), to form a community advisory board (CAB) to a statewide population-based survey administered by UW-Madison, The Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW).2 SHOWCAB was formed to provide insight into dissemination strategies, data interpretation, and community action recommendations. Preliminary findings indicate SHOWCAB members feel more connected to population health information when it is presented in the format of personal stories and maps, rather than via graphs and statistics. Regarding dissemination venues, the SHOWCAB prioritized churches, community newspapers, and local radio stations. Categories of SHOW data identified by the CAB as the greatest health issues facing their community were alcohol and substance abuse, hypertension, and mental health. CAB discussions have influenced SDC programming and inspired grant applications for projects addressing the CAB-identified priority health areas. A process evaluation gathered SHOWCAB member perspectives regarding the CAB experience and the translation of the experience into community empowerment; analysis is underway. This model of integrating a community voice into data interpretation and using research findings for action via community-based organizations can be a valuable approach toward addressing health disparities and promoting health equity.