title: Cultures of engagement: The organizational foundations of advancing health in immigrant and low-income communities of color.
abstract: A rich civic infrastructure of community-based organizations (CBOs) can help generate, diffuse and maintain a culture of engagement and health that benefits marginalized populations most at risk for illness, disability, and poor health. Attention to CBOs advances "meso-level" frameworks for understanding health cultures and outcomes by going beyond attention to social networks and social identities. We focus on three mechanisms: CBOs can (1) empower individuals by developing civic capacity and personal efficacy; (2) foster solidarity by building networks, social identities and a shared commitment to collective well-being; and (3) mobilize people to have a voice in health-related policies and programming, thereby affecting community well-being. We draw on theory and research in sociology, political science and psychology, and we illustrate the utility of a CBO approach by examining survey and semi-structured interview data from participants in youth civic groups in 13 low-income, predominantly immigrant communities in California. Interview data illustrate the ways in which CBOs enhance members' civic capacities, provide a sense of empowerment and efficacy to engage in healthy behaviors, develop solidarity among diverse participants, and elaborate networks among those committed to community well-being. We also discuss CBO-led campaigns in which youth mobilized for change in policies and practices of local institutions to illustrate possible community-wide health consequences of CBO engagement. CBOs can thus generate individual-level well-being effects, and reduce structural barriers to good health through changes in the broader environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, United States. Electronic address: bloemr@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bloemraad
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz, United States.
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Terriquez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D002140:California / Q000208:ethnology; D003256:Community Participation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D001741:Black or African American
keywords: Civic engagement; Collective action; Community-based organizations; Cultures of health; Immigrant communities; Low-income minorities; United States; Youth