Background:
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for Asian Pacific Americans (APA). Behavioral risk factors associated with this disease can be linked specifically to physical inactivity and nutrition. Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) began the National Asian American and Pacific Islander Network to Eliminate Health Disparities (NAPNEHD) in October 2009 with the goal to eliminate health disparities in APA communities by focusing on environmental and policy change. As part of NAPNEHD, NYC-based Asian Pacific Americans Healthy Eating and Active Living In our Neighborhoods (APA HEALIN’), utilizes advocacy, empowerment and leadership development approaches. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the process of collaboration development in regards to building an empowering learning community, enhancing organizational capacity, and documenting challenges and successes.
Objectives:
APA HEALIN’ aims to address healthy food and active living disparities in APA communities in NYC. Specific objectives for year one of the collaboration are to:
1. Create a learning community that facilitates information sharing and collaboration throughout the NAPNEHD Network and the APA community;
2. Enhance capacity of the local APA HEALIN’ affiliates to reduce health disparities through policy change;
3. Document and disseminate the progress and performance of APA HEALIN’.
Methods:
Partners - APA HEALIN’ 5 organizational partners serve the following diverse communities: Nepali, South Asian, and Filipino communities in Queens; Southeast Asian communities in Chinatown and the Bronx; as well as the pan-Asian community throughout New York City. Additionally, Dr. Kevin Nadal, assistant professor at John Jay College and grantee of the RWJF Active Living Research Program, provides essential research expertise and technical assistance services to the group.
Activities - APA HEALIN’ activities were developed in response to the collaboration’s objectives. First, to “create a learning community” and “enhance capacity,” members of the collaboration participate in monthly meetings and a collaboration listserv that provide a forum for members to review and discuss current issues in active living policy and present ideas and findings from their individual research and observations. To track progress and technical assistance needs, qualitative and quantitative data, in the form of meeting minutes, number of shared resources, and number of activities resulting from information shared via meetings and the listserv, are compiled. Second, members of the collaboration participate in local and national conferences, workshops and trainings to familiarize the organizations with both mainstream and community-level active living policy. To document knowledge and skills of the partner organizations, debriefing summaries are compiled. Third, members of the collaboration will enhance their staff’s, volunteers’, and community members’ capacity to conduct community assessments using Photovoice and community mapping methods. The assessment documented nutrition and active living knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of community members and access to healthy foods and safe environments to play and exercise. To document knowledge and skill development, staff/facilitators of the community assessment completed a process evaluation survey. Those engaged in the community assessment also determined effective modes (i.e. exhibits, forums) to disseminate findings to engage community stakeholders and influence policy makers, thereby translating research into practice and policy to promote active living.
Outcome Measures - In addition to measuring the extent of the activities, strategies were developed to measure progress in completing the project objectives. The objective to “create a learning community” will be measured through individual interviews with organization staff in order to examine how activities have impacted information sharing and collaboration. The objective to “enhance capacity” will be evaluated through an organizational capacity assessment survey to measure organizational readiness to do policy advocacy. The objective to “document and disseminate progress” will be measured by creating a list of documents/products and activities carried out by APA HEALIN’ member organizations.
Results:
The first round of organizational capacity assessments were conducted in June 2010. Preliminary findings show technical assistance is needed in these areas:
1. Increase knowledge/resources to gain funding for food justice and active living policy work;
2. Increase capacity/opportunities to conduct and review community-level research;
3. Develop opportunities for partners to advocate for policies that improve the food and built environment in the community; and
4. Increase capacity to monitor and evaluate advocacy activities.
Activities will be ongoing and compete results will be presented.
Conclusions:
Partnerships such as APA HEALIN’ can be a valuable tool to bridge the gap between mainstream food justice/active living movements and communities with high levels of limited English proficiency and lower incomes. Collaborations are critical to bringing diverse stakeholders together to advocate for policies that consider the particular socio-cultural and linguistic needs of underserved Asian American communities. This process evaluation is crucial to identify promising practices that are relevant to the people who are most affected, and recognize opportunities for replication in similar communities across the nation.
Support:
The NAPHEHD Network is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the national program, Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Across the U.S. (REACH U.S.)
