Department of Health, Society, and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, CA, 90015, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2022 May 4;22(1):888. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13245-2.
Cross-sector coalitions can be a powerful vehicle to promote adoption and implementation of evidence-based programs and policies across diverse racial/ethnic communities with a high chronic disease burden. Few studies have examined coalition composition, function, or capacity to promote learning among members.
We used a mixed methods approach to examine the United for Health coalition's implementation of multiple food environment interventions across five low-income communities of color in Los Angeles, California (USA). At the coalition-level, key measures included the collaborative environment, membership characteristics, process and structure, communication, resources, strengths, challenges/barriers, and community impact. At the organizational- and individual-levels, we collected data on participation, leadership development, intraorganizational change, perceived benefits, and learning outcomes.
Overall, the United for Health coalition produced five community gardens, three pop-up produce markets, and one farmers' market; members also expanded Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) access at three existing farmers' markets. Findings indicate early coalition strengths included having a mutual purpose, which was maintained throughout the study period. Coalition participation and engagement was consistently high, while coalition and inter-organizational communication improved over time. Strengths were membership diversity and the availability of learning opportunities. Benefits included leadership development and strategic alignment across organizations. Members demonstrated an increased awareness of the importance of culturally adapted interventions and knowledge of community health planning topics. Key implementation challenges were a lack of resources and social context barriers.
Examining coalition function and maturation in a real-world context reveals important lessons for scholars and practitioners committed to addressing nutrition-related health disparities in marginalized and historically underserved communities. Future work should investigate the sustainability of externally funded cross-sector coalitions after funding ceases.
跨部门联盟可以成为在慢性病负担重的不同种族/族裔社区中推广和实施循证项目和政策的有力工具。很少有研究检查过联盟的组成、功能或促进成员学习的能力。
我们使用混合方法来检查联合健康联盟（United for Health coalition）在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶的五个低收入有色人种社区中实施多项食品环境干预措施的情况。在联盟层面，关键措施包括协作环境、成员特征、过程和结构、沟通、资源、优势、挑战/障碍以及社区影响。在组织和个人层面，我们收集了参与度、领导力发展、组织内变革、感知收益和学习成果的数据。
总体而言，联合健康联盟在五个社区花园、三个临时农产品市场和一个农贸市场的基础上，成员们还扩大了三个现有农贸市场的电子福利转账（EBT）使用范围。研究结果表明，早期联盟的优势包括有共同的目标，这一目标在整个研究期间得以保持。联盟的参与度和参与度一直很高，而联盟和组织间的沟通随着时间的推移有所改善。优势包括成员多样性和学习机会的可用性。好处包括领导力发展和跨组织的战略一致性。成员们更加意识到文化适应干预的重要性，并了解社区健康规划的主题。主要实施挑战是资源缺乏和社会背景障碍。
在现实背景下检查联盟的功能和成熟度，为致力于解决边缘化和历史上服务不足社区中与营养相关的健康差距的学者和实践者提供了重要的经验教训。未来的工作应该调查外部资助的跨部门联盟在资金停止后的可持续性。
