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Session Title: Nerd Activism: Using Data as the Vehicle for Community Mobilization
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Panel Session 639 to be held in INDEPENDENCE on Friday, Nov 12, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM
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Sponsored by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Issues TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Kari Greene, Oregon Public Health Division, kari.greene@state.or.us
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| Abstract:
Structural barriers and policy issues prevent progress on national or local LGBTQ health agendas. Beyond methodological issues, structural and societal impediments include stigmatization, invisibility, lack of a comprehensive research agenda or “home” for LGBTQ evaluation/policy issues, and lack of funding. In this panel, we demonstrate how one community addressed these challenges through an assessment of local needs, followed by data-driven coalition building, fund-raising, and policy development. Does this sound like the perfect evaluation? It wasn’t. It was a cobbled-together effort that succeeded despite tensions between the paradigms of local activism and community engagement and the structured methodological approach of research and evaluation. We share how key factors in community-based participatory research and empowerment evaluation like shared values, trust between partners, and commitment to a common goal made the difference between success and failure.
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Developing a Community Needs Assessment by Consensus: Why is Our Evaluator Tearing Her Hair Out?
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| Linda Drach, Oregon Public Health Division, linda.drach@state.or.us
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Balancing community involvement with methodological rigor can be a challenge when conducting a community-based needs assessment. Structural and societal impediments within the LGBTQ community can create additional roadblocks, as demonstrated by the Speak Out 2009 survey, led by public health staff in Portland, Oregon. Although the survey aimed to explore a wide range of health behaviors, health outcomes, and related social and environmental factors, it originated in the health department’s HIV program because local health equity initiatives did not include LGBTQ issues. Therefore, the project was considered a “special project” and initially had no dedicated funding or staff. We share what we achieved, what opportunities were missed, and how we moved the project from wistful notion to completed evaluation through survey development and implementation, analysis, dissemination, and then into policy and fund development.
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Coalitions Built Through Data: How a Survey Engaged a Community
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| Kari Greene, Oregon Public Health Division, kari.greene@state.or.us
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Despite the methodological and structural challenges of conducting research in LGBTQ communities, a local assessment of LGBTQ health was conducted by a small, committed group of local leaders. This assessment led to a number of important outcomes, including the formation of a LGBTQ Health Coalition with the mission of addressing the social determinants of health and well-being in LGBTQ communities. Having applied for funding to sustain and institutionalize their efforts, the Coalition is embarking on a two-year strategic planning process based on a model developed by the CDC to identify and eliminate health disparities. The model will offer a framework for guiding the coalition through a structured process to solidify the group, assess available data, gather additional data, and generate a plan for action to support advocacy and policy-making. This data-driven, action-oriented model can be used by evaluators from all disciplines to build coalitions, particularly within disenfranchised communities.
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