title: Using community-based participatory research to address social determinants of health: lessons learned from Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities.
abstract: Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities (SPHC) is a multidisciplinary collaboration of community agencies, community activists, public health professionals, academics, and health providers who conduct research aimed at improving the health of urban, socioeconomically marginalized Seattle communities. SPHC uses a community-based participatory research approach to address social factors that affect the health of these communities. This article describes three SPHC projects that focus on social determinants of health, particularly the development of social support and improving housing quality. The characteristics of community participation in each of these projects are discussed and show a spectrum of participation. Although projects successfully addressed proximal social factors affecting health, influencing more distal underlying factors was more difficult. Implications for researchers using a community-based participatory research approach and public health practitioners seeking to engage communities in addressing social determinants of health are presented.
authors.affiliation: Public Health-Seattle & King County, WA 98104, USA. james.krieger@metrokc.gov
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Allen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheadle
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ciske
authors.forename: James K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Schier
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Senturia
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000517:prevention & control; D004493:Education; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006285:Health Planning; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000458:organization & administration; D006304:Health Status; D040361:Healthy People Programs; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012036:Refugees; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health; D014861:Washington