Online Program

278914
Assessing community coalition-academic partner collaboration for health policy development


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Alyssa Mayer, MPH, CPH, Florida Prevention Research Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Mahmooda Khaliq, PhD, MHS, CPH, Community and Family Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Anthony D. Panzera, PhD, MPH, Social Marketing Group, Florida Prevention Research Center, Community and Family Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Robert J. McDermott, PhD, FASHA, Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI
Anita Courtney, MS, RD, Chair, Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition, Public Health Consultant, Lexington, KY
Ashton Wright, MPH, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Carol A. Bryant, PhD, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Brian J. Biroscak, PhD, MS, MA, Florida Prevention Research Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Introduction: To effect grass-roots health policy development, successful collaboration between community coalitions and academic researchers requires trust, shared input, and egalitarian decision-making. The Florida Prevention Research Center (FPRC) collaborated with the Lexington (Kentucky) Tweens' Nutrition and Fitness Coalition (TN&FC) to co-create Community Based Prevention Marketing (CBPM) for Policy Development, an 8-step framework employing community organization and social marketing principles to build capacity for influencing development of health-related policy. To assess this collaboration, partners co-created an instrument to measure its various dimensions. Methods: Dimensions included process, impact on individual skills, knowledge and abilities [relevant to policy development], community impact, and overall coalition satisfaction. The instrument was administered electronically and completed anonymously by members using a retrospective pretesting style of questioning. Changes in mean scores [pre/post - CBPM training] on measures of these dimensions were calculated. Results: CBPM was attributed as having increased coalition member meeting attendance and group process understanding. Significant improvements also were reported regarding knowledge, particularly the importance of using evidence-based data and strategies for reducing barriers to garnering support for policies (p < .05). Improvement in perceived impact on community and capacity to influence policy approached statistical significance. Perceptions of power between partners was almost evenly split (48.7% FPRC : 51.3%TN&FC). Discussion: Introduction of CBPM to guide policy research, development, and planned advocacy enhanced key measures of coalition performance and satisfaction. A robust and co-created tool for measuring these indicators of coalition performance will comprise one index included in the CBPM for Policy Development toolkit now in development.

Learning Areas:

Program planning
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Identify psychometrically valid items for evaluating a framework to promote evidence-based policy adoption. Design a survey instrument using retrospective pretesting methodology to measure process, impact on individual skills, knowledge and abilities, impact on community, and satisfaction. Demonstrate valid and reliable measurement of community-based participatory research endeavors.

Keyword(s): Policy/Policy Development, Community-Based Partnership

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered