2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

335134
Increasing social connectedness among urban African American women through community led health initiatives


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Sandra Waddell, RN, BSN, The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
  
Background: This session describes how an urban community in Metro Detroit, Michigan has come together as a health coalition to address health inequities through an ecological framework centered on increasing social connectedness. Results of a Gender Based Analysis (GBA) conducted in this community revealed striking disparities in the health and social status of women. Owing to disadvantages related to race, socioeconomic status, education, and health, women in this community were also impacted by policy and environmental risk factors that placed them at high-risk for poor health outcomes.

Methods: The presenter describe how innovative health promotion initiatives were developed with the goal of increased social connectedness among urban African American women. A “community-saturation model” of evidence-based lifestyle change programming was developed in addition to improvements in health care access and delivery. The presenters discuss how environmental and policy changes were developed as they relate to violence prevention, physical activity, healthy eating, chronic disease self-management, diabetes prevention and more.

Results: Barriers and successes to implementing supports for increased social connectedness for women are discussed. A global evaluation of the community-saturation model reveals demonstrated successes in addressing health disparities through individual, environmental, and policy changes.

Conclusions: Despite ongoing community-level stressors, women in this urban community have experienced improvements in social connectedness with implications for better health outcomes.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Design a community-based framework centered on increased social connectedness among urban African American women. Describe the components of a community-saturation model as it relates to gender-based analyses of health disparities.

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

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the director of a federally funded grant from the Office on Women's Health grant initiative working toward increasing social connectedness of urban African American women as identified through a gender based analysis that includes approaches,implementation and evaluation of community led evidence-based programs.
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.

Back to: 2079.0: Innovative Public Health Promotion Initiatives