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Session Title: Valuing Voice: Considerations for the Use of Concept Mapping in Communities to Express and Activate Diverse Perspectives in Planning and Evaluation
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Panel Session 741 to be held in San Simeon A on Friday, Nov 4, 2:50 PM to 4:20 PM
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Sponsored by the Collaborative, Participatory & Empowerment Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Sarita Davis, Georgia State University, saritadavis@gsu.edu
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| Discussant(s):
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| Sarita Davis, Georgia State University, saritadavis@gsu.edu
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| Abstract:
This panel examines the use of concept mapping for surfacing and incorporating the values and perspectives of diverse stakeholders in planning and evaluation. Three participative inquiry and practice exemplars are presented, each illuminating how concept mapping aided in addressing the ontological, methodological, and participatory issues associated with articulating stakeholder concerns and values. In the first exemplar, concept mapping was used to articulate what affects health disparities from the perspective of those living in distressed communities in ways that provided new understanding for researchers and providers. The second exemplar integrated and sequenced concept mapping with another participatory research method to expand the dialogue, collaboration, and action of immigrants from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The third exemplar involved the use of concept mapping for seeking, facilitating and organizing the participation of program beneficiaries to make informed decisions about assessing the outcomes of early childhood interventions.
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Whose Voices Describe Reality in a Community's Effort to Reduce Health Disparities?
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| Mary Kane, Concept Systems Inc, mkane@conceptsystems.com
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| Beneta Burt, Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project, benetaburt@bellsouth.net
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African American communities traditionally experienced greater health risks than other groups. In 2003, a community authorship process using concept mapping sought the voices of the community of Jackson, Mississippi to build a Health Disparities Elimination Roadmap. Over 100 people answered this question: "A specific thing that causes African Americans to get sick more and die sooner than people in other groups isGǪ." Ensuring that community members trusted that the project was designed for them to be the project's "authors" opened the door to the development of over 400 responses. The resulting concept map showed the final 132 statements in seven conceptual areas. Priorities focused on what the community could do immediately. The resulting neighborhood models are integrative, creative and effective in changing the community's health status. This presentation will describe how the community's voices combined with agencies and medical service providers to create policy, practice and community health changes.
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The Methodological Integration of Participatory Methods to Amplify Immigrant Resident Perspectives
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| Scott Rosas, Concept Systems Inc, srosas@conceptsystems.com
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| Nasim Haque, Wellesley Institute, nasim@wellesleyinstitute.com
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This presentation focuses on the methodological and technical adaptations of participatory methods that gave rise to the diverse stakeholder interests and enhanced the capacity to make a difference in their neighborhood. This inquiry successfully sequenced and integrated photovoice and concept mapping, resulting in a conceptual framework of factors influencing immigrants' health and well-being, supported by images with captions describing their experiences. This emergent stakeholder-produced model fostered new opportunities for immigrant residents from very diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to convey a sophisticated and nuanced view of how their neighborhood influenced health and well-being. The model enabled in-depth dialogue regarding factors impacting health in a densely populated, low-income, urban neighborhood and means for initialing action for change. Immigrant residents were able to clearly and accurately identify areas where values and potential for action intersected; yielding a consensus perspective that maximized buy-in and support, thereby increasing the likelihood of success.
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Engaging Program Beneficiaries to Ensure Voice Equity in Program Evaluation
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| Katy Hall, Concept Systems Inc, khall@conceptsystems.com
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| Donna Noyes, New York State Department of Health, dmn02@health.state.ny.us
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The NY State Department of Health's Early Intervention Program (EIP) for infants and toddlers with disabilities serves 70,000 children and families. Given the program's scope, demand for outcome data is high. Beginning in 2005, a three-phase project was conducted to develop an outcome measurement system. In Phase I, concept mapping was used with stakeholders, including beneficiaries, to develop an outcome framework from which measures to assess outcome could be designed and tested. In Phase II, two impact scales (child/family) were developed and tested based on these outcomes. In Phase III, data collected from stakeholders found the project was successful in identifying meaningful outcomes, and developing an effective measurement approach for statewide implementation. This presentation will describe how the values and decisions of parents of children in the early intervention program were given credibility and combined with those of service providers, state and county EIP staff, and experts throughout the project.
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