Enhancing community-based organizations' capacity for HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
The catalytic potential of community-based organizations to promote health, prevent disease, and address racial, ethnic, and socio-economic disparities in local communities is well recognized. However, many CBOs, particularly, small- to medium-size organizations, lack the capacity to plan, implement, and evaluate their successes. Moreover, little assistance has been provided to enhance their capacity and the effectiveness of technical assistance to enhance capacity is likewise limited. A unique private-academic partnership is described that simultaneously conducted program evaluation and addressed the capacity needs of 24 CBOs funded by the Pfizer Foundation Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative. Assessments of key program staff members at 12 and 18 months after the initial cross-site program assessment survey indicated a significant improvement in the CBOs' knowledge, skills, and abilities and a substantial reduction in their technical assistance needs for HIV/AIDS prevention. Full participation of CBOs in technical assistance and a concurrent empowerment evaluation framework were necessary to enhance prevention capacity.
Baylor Health Care System, Institute for Health Care Research and Improvement, 8080 North Central Expressway, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75206, USA. robermay@baylorhealth.edu
Robert M
RM
Mayberry
Pamela
P
Daniels
Elleen M
EM
Yancey
Tabia Henry
TH
Akintobi
Jamillah
J
Berry
Nicole
N
Clark
Ahmad
A
Dawaghreh
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019058:Community Networks / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006266:Health Education / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D006290:Health Planning Technical Assistance; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D016730:Program Development / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014146:Training Support; D014481:United States