Community based participatory action research (CBPAR) and related approaches are considered an essential strategy to address some of the most intractable health issues and inequities, which are often deeply rooted in complex social problems and require partnership with affected communities to solve them.
Addressing health inequities through community investment requires a more thoughtful approach between health, transportation, economic development, natural resources and other infrastructure stakeholders, including communities and community-based organizations (CBOs).
In contrast to more traditional applied research, in which the professional or agency identifies a health problem, devises an evidence-informed intervention, and evaluates the results, CBPAR shifts control over problem identification and prioritization, strategy selection, and data collection and interpretation, so that it is shared between professional and community, or even placed entirely in the control of the community.
Here are findings from several community-engaged collaborations and field scans, as presented at the 2023 International Conference on Urban Health and the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting.
- Traditional infrastructure planning has not addressed public health impacts, leading to health harms for socioeconomically excluded communities, such as reduced pedestrian mobility, physical and social disruption of community structure, flooding, mental distress, and much more. Public health and transportation sector collaboration to improve health can unintentionally create negative impacts on communities experiencing inequities, such as residential and commercial displacement. GHPC received funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to bring together infrastructure, environment, and public health professionals and community stakeholders to better address health equity through infrastructure planning. The project included a multisectoral APHA session, and a survey of CBOs conducted by an environmental justice CBO partner. Read the full report here.
- Communities that experience disinvestment and socioeconomic exclusion due to structural inequities contend with a complex system of barriers to wellbeing. The Atlanta TransFormation Alliance funded GHPC to engage community stakeholders in southwest Atlanta in conversations about healthy community investment opportunities. View the project activities and accomplishments, the insights from local food system social enterprises, and the TransFormation Alliance Health Vision.
This page is managed by Michelle J. Marcus, MPH, Senior Policy Impact Specialist at the Georgia Health Policy Center. For more information, please visit https://ghpc.gsu.edu/
Contact Michelle at mmarcus2@gsu.edu
Healing Public Health 