Dear SDOH colleagues,
I'm sorry I haven't been able to contribute to this discussion during the
lead-up to the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health conference that
took place May 31 - June 3. I'm reading through all the postings now and
will respond to them more directly shortly, but in the meantime am
sharing daily email reports about the conference that were sent out to
CCPH members. Given the SDOH postings I've read through so far, you may
be particularly interested in Loretta Jones' opening keynote presentation
(report #1, below), Access Alliance's policies on community-based research
(report #2, next email) and remarks made by Terri Wright of the WK Kellogg
Foundation during the plenary panel of funding agency perspectives (report
#3, last email).
CCPH promotes health (broadly defined) through partnerships between
communities and higher educational institutions. Our conference next year
will be in Toronto, ON Canada, April 11-14, 2007. If you're interested
in serving on the conference planning committee, please let me know and
I'll send more information. The call for session and poster proposals
will be out this summer.
Subject: Report from CCPH conference in Minneapolis!
Greetings from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, where Community-Campus Partnerships
for Health's 9th conference is underway. The conference, "Walking the Talk:
Achieving the Promise of Authentic Partnerships" has drawn a diverse group of
participants for 4 days of skill-building, networking and agenda-setting.
About 450 CCPH members from 40 states, DC, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ghana,
India, The Netherlands, Nigeria and South Africa are in attendance.
Knowing not all CCPH members are able to attend the conference, we will be
sending daily reports to keep everyone in the loop! You can check out the
program at http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/conf-agenda.html. Each report will
highlight some of our conference cosponsors and funders. In this report, we
thank Metropolitan State University for sponsoring the conference opening
breakfast, and these organizations for supporting community participation at
the conference: the WK Kellogg Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, the
Northwest Health Foundation and the Wellesley Institute.
At its meeting on Wednesday May 31, the CCPH board of directors elected Chuck
Conner as chair-elect. Chuck has served as the Site Coordinator for the West
Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships for the past thirteen years. The
program places health professions students in rural settings for clinical and
community experiences. Chuck is also a Licensed Social Worker, Nationally
Certified Addictions Counselor and Prevention Specialist. He has been providing
education and treatment services for individuals and families experiencing
difficulty with the use of alcohol and drugs for over twenty years. He also
served on this year's conference planning committee and is our conference
photographer! Current chair Renee Bayer will complete her term at the board's
next meeting in October, when Ella Greene-Moton becomes the new chair. Learn
more about the incredible people who serve on the CCPH board at
at http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/boardmembers.html
While at the board was meeting, conference participants took part in one of
five pre-conference institutes: Engaging Campuses as Authentic Partners: Tips &
Strategies for Community Leaders; Essentials of Service-Learning Partnerships;
Community-Based Participatory Research: Developing & Sustaining Partnerships;
Practical Guidance for Authors Writing About Community-Based Participatory
Research and Making Your Best Case for Promotion and/or Tenure: A Toolkit for
Community-Engaged Faculty Members. Another group spent the day learning about
community-campus partnerships and rural health workforce development in
Willmar, MN, located 100 miles west of the Twin Cities.
On Wednesday evening, participants boarded buses to the Weisman Art Museum for
the conference opening reception sponsored by the University of Minnesota
Academic Health Center. This Frank Gehry-designed building provided a lovely
setting for conversation and camaraderie. Welcome remarks were provided by
Susan Gust, CCPH board member and local community activist, Barbara Brandt,
Vice President of Education for the Academic Health Center, and John Finnegan,
Dean of the School of Public Health.
The conference began on Thursday June 1 with a presentation by Loretta Jones
that challenged us all to strive for authenticity and equity in our partnership
relationships. She drew on her experiences as founding executive director of
Healthy African American Families II, a non-profit, community serving agency
whose mission is to improve the health outcomes of the African American and
Latino communities in Los Angeles County. The organization has partnerships
with Charles Drew University, University of California-Los Angeles, University
of Southern California and the RAND Corporation, all designed to create lasting
effects in health policy and practice that will enhance the health status of
the community.
Loretta's many words of wisdom included:
Thanks to a lesson learned by a 94 year old community leader who set the record
straight, she no longer talks about "empowering communities" because "People
are already empowered; we are helping them to redirect some of their poweror to
discover their power."
"The knowledge in communities is wide and deep. I may not have a PhD from a
university; I earned my PhD on the sidewalk."
She stressed the importance of signing memorandums of agreement or
understanding that spell out rights and responsibilities that all partners
agree to, and pointed to an example from her agency at
http://www.witness4wellness.org/council/agreement.html. She also referred to
the importance of establishing partnerships with organizations and institutions
and not just particular people, because people "get on and off the bus" as
their priorities change.
She also acknowledged that not all are cut out for partnership work, noting
that "not all researchers should be in communities."
Another highlight of the day was Part 1 of the 2-part Issue Thrash sessions.
The series provides participants an opportunity to explore shared issues and
challenges, come away with fresh ideas and new strategies to help meet those
challenges, and have their opinions heard on a national level by recommending
ways that CCPH and other stakeholders can be supportive. During Part 1,
participants chose one of 8 topic areas to delve into. A sampling of issues,
challenges and strategies that came out of these sessions appears below.
Topic area: Sustaining community-campus partnerships
Describe the issue: Getting the buy-in of all stakeholders (and those that
don't know they are stakeholders) at the top leadership at the beginning of
partnership
List 3 challenges/barriers:
1. What happens when leadership changes
2. How do you convince those that don't see themselves as stakeholders
3. Building a consensus around a uniform vision
List strategies/solutions which address the challenges/barriers listed above
1. Start with an agreed upon broad goal that comes from the community.
Develop strategic plan together.
2. Implement a short-term, successful project of pilot that helps to
"bond" the group. "The glue that holds people together."
3. Continue to cultivate and groom new leaders and make sure leadership
changes. Recognize all types of leadership. Celebrate accomplishments and
contributions.
4. Get stakeholders involved by trying to figure out their interests and
ask them to get involved.
Topic area: Community strategies for campus engagement
Describe the issue: Get the campus to participate/support community initiated
projects
List 3 challenges/barriers:
1. Lack of understanding of community-based participatory research (CBPR)
process/values
2. Finding the right people/person to be advocates/gatekeepers
3. Teaching community how to approach/talk to campus - lack of same
language - different agenda & priorities
List strategies/solutions which address the challenges/barriers listed above
1. Research which campuses have programs and faculty that connect to the
issue
a. Search department/faculty websites
b. Talk to any contacts in the campus
c. Meet with intern coordinator, office of service-learning, campus
ministries
d. Invite campus contact to be on your advisory committees
e. Consult the Campus Compact publication, The Promise of Partnerships:
Tapping into the College as a Community Asset,
2. Experienced community partners should present at conferences and venues
where academics go to learn CBPR process
3. Cultivate at least one entry relationship, "go-to" person
4. Connect on a personal level at events, outside of work
5. Volunteer on campus and inter-campus committees
6. Look at other parts of the campus beyond the "usual suspects" - for
example, health professions
Topic area: Social determinants of health and social justice
Describe the issue: Cultural egocentrism: The way my culture sees things is
the way you should see things. You should share (or adopt) my views, values,
needs, perceptions.
List 3 challenges/barriers:
1. No room for other views/positions
2. Institutionalized and entrenched
3. Rewards specific groups, thus they have an entrenched interest in
continuing
List strategies and solutions which address the challenges/barriers listed
above:
1. Service-learning - train providers among the community/culture they
serve
2. Using lay health workers and having HMOs/hospitals reimburse
3. Having the skill set to negotiate cultural difference/to be aware of
differences and to understand cultural beliefs
4. Building a diverse workforce
5. Broader definition of who is and who is not a health professional
6. Avoiding labeling programs
Stay tuned for the next installment!
******************************************************************************
Community-Campus Partnerships for Health promotes health (broadly
defined) through partnerships between communities and higher educational
institutions. Become a member today at www.ccph.info
Join CCPH for our 10th Anniversary Conference, April 11-14, 2007 in Toronto
The call for proposals will posted this summer at www.ccph.info
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