Community Outreach and Information Dissemination Core

The primary goal of the Community Outreach and Information Dissemination Core (COIDC) is to build upon the existing infrastructure within the Center for Minority Health (CMH), integrating EXPORT Health activities with existing CMH activities to serve as a resource to the local community, the region and the Commonwealth. COIDC activities focus on disease prevention, health promotion, and the translation of evidence based research into practical interventions for improved health outcomes.

Objectives:

1. Launch a communication campaign that fosters public understanding of research and better prepares African Americans to participate in research.
   
   
2. Train representatives from EXPORT community partners as community lay health advisors.
   
   
3. Train State Health Improvement Partnerships (SHIPs) to develop and sustain health promotion and disease prevention activities.
   
   
4. Develop and disseminate culturally sensitive health promotion material related to EXPORT research activities through existing CMH mechanisms and community partners.
5. Conduct two (2) annual symposiums for minority and underrepresented students in high school and undergraduate education, exposing them to public health, health disparities, and participatory research.
   

Summary of COID Core Major Activities

African American Health Promotion Campaign (AAHPC): The campaign is funded by The Pittsburgh Foundation, with support from the Heinz Endowment. The AAHPC represents a partnership with the Faith Based Health Initiative of Greater Pittsburgh (FBHI) and focuses on the seven priority areas. The campaign goals are:

• To analyze, package and disseminate public health and medical research findings to the black community through collaborations with organizations and individuals.
  
• To build the capacity of local organizations, churches and groups to initiate health promotion and disease prevention activities in the black community.
  
• To translate scientific knowledge about health promotion and disease prevention into steps people can use in their everyday lives.
  
• Disseminate research findings through the media and other sources to raise the visibility and credibility of an expanded view of health.
  

Working groups have been established as one strategy used to bring together a diverse group of individuals from the academic community, health promotion and human service organizations, health providers, and community representatives, interested in addressing health disparities. Each group plans and implements health promotion activities during National Minority Health Month.

'Booster Booster' Immunization Campaign: In late March 2001 the Greater Pittsburgh Measles Immunization Task Force was formed by the CMH. According to state law, Pittsburgh school children faced mandatory suspension on May 1st if certifications of their booster shots against measles, mumps, and rubella were not filed with their schools. Despite a year of hard work on the part of the school district, more than 11,000 students, mostly minority, had not complied by late March. The Task Force included faculty from the Graduate School of Public Health, the School of Social Work, and the School of Medicine. University of Pittsburgh Chancellor, Mark Nordenberg brought the considerable resources of the university to the initiative. Organizations and community groups represented on the Task Force included the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Allegheny County Health Department, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, several local churches, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, YMCA, the Urban League of Pittsburgh, Maurice Falk Medical Fund, the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Giant Eagle grocery stores, Community Empowerment Association, Inc., the United Way of Allegheny County, and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. Staff from the Mayor's Office and the Office of the Allegheny County Executive represented local civic leaders. The Task Force developed a comprehensive approach that included an intensive mass media campaign, targeted telephone calling, announcements in church bulletins, materials distribution through local agencies and grocery stores, changes in school administrative procedures, and finally, multiple immunization outreach clinics in community settings. In addition, a massive 'east end' door-to-door community outreach campaign was organized and directed by the Community Empowerment Association, Inc. By May 1, more than 96% of these children had received the booster or updated their medical records. While this stands as an excellent example of interdisciplinary efforts that included direct collaboration with community partners, it also paved the way for future opportunities to address the health of children in the greater Pittsburgh community. The Booster Booster campaign was promoted during National Minority Health Month with a focus on child immunization, immunization for the elderly, and the importance of immunization for individuals with a chronic disease.

BWHOLE (Black Women and Health Outreach for Longer Life and Empowerment), a health promotion network, was established in 1997 to connect Black women to health information, resources, support and sisterhood. BWHOLE consists of Black women, from various 'walks of life' including health educators, physicians and other health professionals, research investigators and academicians, research recruitment specialists, media personalities, community outreach workers, the clergy, artists, mental health and human service practitioners, attorneys, 'stay-at-home moms,' students and retirees. Others work in retail, aging, the school system, financial planning and investments, public safety, the ministry, cultural arts, pharmacy, and philanthropy. Members also represent expertise/interest in heart disease and stroke, cancer (including prostate cancer), depression, grief and loss, and other mental health conditions, diabetes, maternal and child health, organ and tissue donation, family preservation, relationship violence, addiction, HIV/AIDS, lupus, clinical trials, female puberty, aging and long-term care, spirituality, the arts and health, autism, health and wellness, physical fitness, yoga, nutrition, and personal and economic empowerment. BWHOLE recently initiated the Walking Divas, a system of support for all women to be physically active and the network has established. BWHOLE Jrs. focusing on health education and self-esteem for black females aged 8-21.

Community Health Education in Barber Shops/Beauty Salons: In September of 2002, the Center for Minority Health kicked off its first health education project in three local barber shops during Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day, a national effort to promote health and wellness in the African American community. The CMH version of this national initiative was to "Take a Health Professional to the People Day" and health professionals provided health screenings and education in the barber shops. The idea of health education in barber shops and beauty salons stems from years of qualitative, community-based participatory research and the idea that trusted community members such as barbers and beauticians can be good vehicles for disseminating accurate, evidence-based health promotion messages, especially relating to preventable diseases. The focus is to educate them about the seven national priority health disparity areas: cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, immunization, infant mortality, and mental health. The program will be expanded to include additional barber shops and beauty salons throughout the greater Pittsburgh area.

CRAB: In 2001, the Center for Minority Health established a Community Research Advisory Board (CRAB). The CRAB was established in response to community demands for better communication between academic researchers, local health care providers and the African American community. The CRAB, composed of opinion leaders from the local African American community and University of Pittsburgh academicians, is co-chaired by Dr. Jeannette South-Paul and Mr. Wilford Payne. Dr. South-Paul is the first woman and first African American to chair the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine and has a medical practice at the Mathilda Theiss community health center. Mr. Payne is the Executive Director of Primary Health Services, Inc., which has several community health centers located in underserved areas throughout Allegheny County. The CRAB will provide a primary mechanism for community outreach and information dissemination and will participate in various ways in the activities organized by the Cores, including helping to design and implement a series of educational community meetings focusing on research, informed consent, and research participation.

Diversity Reception: To support the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in the health science schools at the University of Pittsburgh, the CMH and the School of Medicine Office of Student and Minority Affairs hosts an annual networking reception. The reception theme is 'Valuing Diversity in the Health Sciences' and provides an opportunity for students of color to meet and network with each other and underrepresented faculty and other leadership in the health sciences. This forum promotes opportunities for mentorship, professional development and collaboration.

EXCEED (Excellence in Eliminating Disparities): EXCEED was implemented in January 2001 at the Graduate School of Public Health. Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Quality Research (AHQR), EXCEED currently consists of four research studies designed to address the well-documented disparities between minority and majority adult Americans. These disparities include access to health care, the utilization of health resources and differences in prevention, treatment outcomes, and health status. Edmund Ricci, PhD (co-director of the EXPORT Training Core) is the Principal Investigator. Richard Zimmerman, MD (Director of the EXPORT Immunization Core) and Stephen Thomas, PhD (EXPORT PI) are Co-Principal Investigators. Research Cores include: Adult Immunization (Dr. Richard Zimmerman, PI), Oral History Project (Dr. Bruce Block, PI), and Patient - Physician Communication (Dr. Jeanette Trauth, PI). In addition, EXCEED provides training and practical research experience for a junior investigators representative of minority populations.

Health Disparity Journal Club: The CMH Journal Club takes place the last Wednesday of each month with attendees discussing an article addressing culturally competent care, public health research, health promotion, prevention and management. Participants include academic and communities partners and the Journal Cub is open to the general public.
Health Promotion Sundays: Under the umbrella of the AAHPC, in partnership with the Urban League of Pittsburgh and the UPMC four churches are identified to host 'Health Promotion Sunday' during National Minority Health Month. Church leadership are asked to include a message about health promotion and disease prevention as part of their sermon, and after the service, the congregation participates in a health fair, which includes: blood pressure checks, stroke analysis, and other basic assessments of risk factors for disease. Health promotion organizations also provide information about healthy eating, physical activity, screenings and early detection. Churches not hosting HPS are also encouraged to include a health message in their sermon and health information after their service.

Information Dissemination: The CMH maintains a large electronic database and disseminates information throughout our network for various individuals, community groups, organizations, and faith communities related to neighborhood events, health fairs, job announcements, board opportunities, funding opportunities, advocacy requests, public meetings, health information and resources. Information is screened for dissemination at the discretion of the CMH.

National Minority Health Leadership Summit: For the past three years, minority health leaders, scholars and consumers, from around the United States have convened in Pittsburgh for a two-day summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Hosted by the Center for Minority Health, the first Summit in 2001was co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Office of Disease Prevention and had as its theme: Mapping a Course for Community Action and Research. The 2002 Summit centered on the theme: The Impact of Discrimination on Health Status; and the 2003 Summit theme was The Role of Community Participatory Research. In 2004, the Summit will focus on the role of health communication in the prevention and management of disease. It will also mark the 10th anniversary of the Center for Minority Health. Primary local funders are The Maurice Falk Medical Fund, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and The Heinz Endowment. Federal sponsors have included the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, Region III and the VA of Pittsburgh Health Care System, Center for Research on Health Care.

Personal Stories in Pittsburgh Courier: In partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), a 'personal story' based on an interview with a local African American, appears on the UPMC health page of the Pittsburgh Courier - a local newspaper targeting the African American community. Stories focus on a particular health issue, describing how the individual discovered the health condition, their health beliefs about it, and how they attempt to manage the condition. The stories are positive and inspiring, and they educate the readers about risks, prevention, survival and resources. Personal stories appear in the Pittsburgh Courier the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

State Health Improvement Partnerships: In May 2002, the Center for Minority Health received one of six state grants to help create and support community-based programs for minority health issues. This is a collaboration between the CMH, the Southwestern SHIPs, and several other academic and community partners, entitled: Building Capacity of State Health Improvement Partnerships to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Planning for a Regional Intervention.. The goals of the SHIPs include:

• To increase community empowerment by providing meaningful opportunity for community planning based on local needs
• To link community-based health plans with the allocation of Commonwealth resources to the degree possible
• To establish partnerships among local government, state, and local partners committed to sharing the risk, responsibility, and resources to foster the coordination of health resources along the spectrum of prevention, acute care, and long-term care
• Shift the mode of community health planning from a prescriptive model to a shared responsibility model.
  

Southwestern SHIPs:

• Armstrong County Family Resource Network
• Braddock Community Partnership
• Cambria Family Resource Initiative
• Fayette County Community Health Improvement Partnership
• Hazelwood Initiative--Healthy Outreach Promoting Empowerment (HI HOPE)
• Healthy Oakland People (HOP)
• Hilltop Community HealthCare Partnership Initiative
• Indiana County Community Health Advisory Council
• Mon Valley Advances Total Community Health (MATCH)
• Northside Health Improvement Partnership
• Partners Advocating Total Health (PATCH)
• Washington County Health Partners, Inc.
  

Technical Assistance: The successful elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in health depends upon trusting academic and community partnerships designed to increase the participation of minority populations in biomedical and public health research. To this end, the CMH provides technical assistance to funded research projects with the goal of building the capacity of investigators to conduct research that is both participatory and culturally competent.

Tobacco Prevention Clearinghouse: The Tobacco Prevention Clearinghouse is collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Health Department, and the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia, PA. The purpose of the clearinghouse is to provide statewide technical assistance in program planning and evaluation for community-based efforts to reduce exposure to tobacco smoke pollution (including tobacco control, smoking prevention and minority health), building the capacity of community-based organizations to collect and analyze data, conduct asset and needs assessments, write fundable intervention proposals and evaluate program effectiveness. The CMH will help to initiate a comprehensive tobacco control program to communities in the Commonwealth of PA consistent with the State Health Improvement Plan, and in cooperation with the local State Health Improvement Partnerships (SHIPs).