Factors that facilitate addressing the social determinants of health throughout a CBRP process

Background: CBPR has proven an empowering approach to engaging historically marginalized communities around issues related to public health. However, CBPR practitioners often address health disparities via individual-level interventions without consideration of the social, economic and political conditionals that contribute to differences in health across individuals and communities. In order to effectively address the health of historically marginalized communities, CBPR must consider the multiple levels at which health disparities arise and operate, as well as multi-level solutions. Objectives: This article examines factors that promote addressing social determinants of health (SDH) throughout a CBPR process. Methods: Purposeful snowball sampling was used to identify 10 CBPR partnerships deemed successful in addressing SDH. Semistructured interviews were conducted with academic and community partners from each partnership, and a qualitative content analysis was conducted to analyze themes that emerged from the data. Results: Findings indicate that several factors, such as engagement with policymakers and length of time of academic and community partnerships have worked together to address SDH may help to address underlying conditions that contribute to health disparities. Conclusions: Lessons learned throughout this study suggest that considerations of social, economic and political conditions are important to consider when addressing differences in health outcomes among historically marginalized communities. CBPR practitioners are urged to consider the role of SDH in all CBPR studies of health and health disparities.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Describe the components of a social determinants of health framework as it applies to a CBPR process. Identify factors that facilitate addressing the multiple social determinants of public health throughout a CBPR process. Discuss how findings from the present study could assist in the development and support of CBPR studies that take steps to address policy within a social determinants of health framework.

Keyword(s): Community-Based Research (CBPR), Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have considerable experience managing CBPR projects around such topics as: cancer health disparities in underserved communities, transitions in-and-out of middle school among African Americans youth, informational needs of Latino parents of children with autism, and understanding the context of educational programming in underserved communities. I have expertise in the areas of: CBPR methods, social determinants of health and health disparities, and participatory evaluation. I am dynamic presenter capable of sharing this information with others.
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.

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