Mapping a strategic plan for health: Community-based participatory research with underserved, low-income, urban neighborhoods

S ince 2002, community-based participatory research methods have been used by the Calvin College Nursing Department to map out a strategic health plan for three urban, low-income, underserved neighborhoods. Community-based participatory research is a collaborative approach to inquiry, in which community and academia are co-teachers and co-learners (Anderson, Calvillo, & Fongwa, 2007; Heffner, Zandee, & Schwander, 2003). It emphasizes shared power, building community capacity, and joint research with the goal of action, to improve the health of the community (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2003). Nine focus groups and 449 door-to-door health surveys were completed across the three urban neighborhoods between 2002 and 2004. Neighborhood meetings were held to share the results of the research, and to give residents a platform to identify the top five health concerns for their neighborhood along with recommended solutions. Neighborhood strategic plans were then collaboratively written documenting the baseline research, and linking the resi-dent-driven health concerns and solutions with nursing student learning experiences across the nursing curriculum. The top health concern identified by all three neighborhoods was lack of access to health care. The resident-driven solution addressing this issue was development of a Community Health Worker Program. Residents would be trained in basic health care and would work with nursing students to promote health and access to care in the neighbor-hood. The Community Health Worker Program was identified on the strategic plan as a strategy to promote access to care, and was initiated in the three neighborhoods in 2005. Evaluation measures were outlined in the strategic plan to measure effectiveness of the collaborative program