141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

283018
Exploring the effects of goal congruence and resource dependence on active living collaborative members' perceptions of success

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 9:10 AM - 9:30 AM

Jill Litt, PhD , Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
Hannah Reed, BS , Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
Rachel Tabak, PhD , Prevention Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Jeanette Gustat, PhD , Department of Epidemiology; Prevention Research Center, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA
Nancy O'Hara Tompkins, PhD , Prevention Research Center; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Karin Valentine Goins, MPH , Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
Daniel Bornstein, Doctoral candidate , Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Rodney Lyn, PhD, MS , Institute of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Danielle Varda, PhD , School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO
INTRODUCTION: Multisectoral collaborative groups are frequently employed to support community goals, such as improving the built environment to increase physical activity opportunities. Several studies of collaborative group success exist, yet there is little agreement on the correlates of success, and more specifically, correlates of group members' perceptions of success. This study provides insight into the contextual and compositional factors related to members' perceptions of success. METHODS: We surveyed active living collaborative group members using the web-based network survey and analysis tool entitled ‘PARTNER'. We examined individual-level member characteristics (e.g., length of time involved, sector affiliation, resource contribution, perception of goals) and group-level collaborative characteristics (e.g., age and size of group, network density and centrality) as they relate to perceptions of success. We used multi-level models to test whether and how member and collaborative differences relate to members' perceptions of success. RESULTS: 384 members (69% response rate, 3-17 members per group) from 53 collaboratives and 22 states completed the online survey. Results will shed light on the dynamics among members from different sectors and the underlying challenges regarding goal incongruence and resource interdependence as they relate to transportation, planning and public health. DISCUSSION: Understanding the factors that influence members' perceptions can help collaborative leaders better elicit members' expectations and experiences and establish relevant, authentic goals for the collaborative. In order to be successful, groups must span the boundaries of sectors and address goal congruence to realize structural and policy changes to the built environment to support physical activity.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Identify factors which influence collaborative members’ perceptions of success. Discuss the role of various sectors on multisectoral groups in achieving environmental and policy change. Describe PARTNER as a social network analytic tool to evaluate collaborative groups’ processes and outcomes.

Keywords: Physical Activity, Collaboration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been PI for the CANAL study since its inception. I have overseen all data collection and related analyses that are described in this abstract.
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.