Empowerment, Leadership, and Sustainability in a Faith-Based Partnership to Improve Health.

Community-based participatory research is a noted approach for improving community health and reducing health disparities. Community partnerships can serve as a catalyst for change in public health efforts. This article will apply empowerment theory and sustainability principles to an existing faith-based partnership. BRANCH Out is a partnership among 13 African American churches, the City of Milwaukee Health Department - Community Nutrition, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. The partnership goal was to change inaccurate perceptions, knowledge and negative attitudes, and behaviors about chronic disease and promote healthy youth leadership. Faith-based empowerment can occur at the individual, organizational, and community level. BRANCH Out demonstrates how partnerships can be sustained in multiple ways. The partnership also highlights the unique contributions of churches to community health outcomes.

Empowerment, Leadership, and Sustainability in a Faith-Based Partnership to Improve Health.

Community-based participatory research is a noted approach for improving community health and reducing health disparities. Community partnerships can serve as a catalyst for change in public health efforts. This article will apply empowerment theory and sustainability principles to an existing faith-based partnership. BRANCH Out is a partnership among 13 African American churches, the City of Milwaukee Health Department-Community Nutrition, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. The partnership goal was to change inaccurate perceptions, knowledge and negative attitudes, and behaviors about chronic disease and promote healthy youth leadership. Faith-based empowerment can occur at the individual, organizational, and community level. BRANCH Out demonstrates how partnerships can be sustained in multiple ways. The partnership also highlights the unique contributions of churches to community health outcomes.

A randomized trial of peer-delivered self-management support for hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Peer-led interventions to improve chronic disease self-management can improve health outcomes but are not widely used. Therefore, we tested a peer-led hypertension self-management intervention delivered at regular meetings of community veterans' organizations. METHODS: We randomized 58 organizational units ("posts") of veterans' organizations in southeast Wisconsin to peer-led vs. professionally delivered self-management education. Volunteer peer leaders at peer-led posts delivered monthly presentations regarding hypertension self-management during regular post meetings. Volunteer post representatives at seminar posts encouraged post members to attend 3 didactic seminars delivered by health professionals at a time separate from the post meeting. Volunteers in both groups encouraged members to self-monitor using blood pressure cuffs, weight scales, and pedometers. Our primary outcome was change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 12 months. RESULTS: We measured SBP in 404 participants at baseline and in 379 participants at 12 months. SBP decreased significantly (4.4mm Hg; P < 0.0001) overall; the decrease was similar in peer-led and seminar posts (3.5mm Hg vs. 5.4mm Hg; P = 0.24). Among participants with uncontrolled BP at baseline, SBP decreased by 10.1mm Hg from baseline to 12 months but was again similar in the 2 groups. This pattern was also seen at 6 months and with diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Our peer-led educational intervention was not more effective than didactic seminars for SBP control. Although peer-led educational programs have had important impacts in a number of studies, we did not find our intervention superior to a similar intervention delivered by healthcare professionals. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00571038.

Strong Rural Communities Initiative (SRCI) program: challenges in promoting healthier lifestyles.

BACKGROUND: The Strong Rural Communities Initiative (SRCI) was created to address the health needs of rural Wisconsin communities through a multifaceted partnership that included the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH), the Rural Health Development Council (RHDC), and hospitals, public health departments, and businesses in 6 rural communities in Wisconsin. The SRCI provided a broad framework of leadership to assist each of the 6 rural communities in developing and implementing new, collaborative interventions that addressed the specific health needs of the community. METHODS: Separate assessments were conducted for the communities that partnered with each respective medical school and focused on the processes of community collaboration and partnership function. Assessment approaches included formative and outcome evaluation. RESULTS: Each community independently reported positive outcomes associated with the partnership process and various aspects of community collaboration, including the successes and health impacts of the workplace wellness programs implemented. Assessment data also revealed challenges related to conducting effective community-academic partnerships. CONCLUSIONS: The SRCI was established to execute statewide programs in rural communities with the goal to improve the health of people living in those communities. We have gained applicable knowledge regarding the types of challenges that exist in establishing a rural-based community research network between academic partners and community leaders.