A Comprehensive, Community-Based Coalition to Address Racial Disparities in Chronic Disease: REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) in Allegheny County, PA

Online Publication Date:
September 9, 2022
Publication Status:
Published
Published Article MUSE Link:
Manuscript PDF File:

**Published in Progress in Community Health Partnerships (PCHP) 17.3. All rights reserved.**

ABSTRACT Background: Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Initiative, Live Well Allegheny: Lifting Wellness for African Americans (LWA2) in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, aims to enhance health equity by addressing chronic disease in six African-American communities via three key strategies: nutrition, physical activity, and community-clinical linkages. Objectives: This manuscript describes the coalition’s partnership dynamics and evaluation methods with a focus on nutrition strategies. Methods: We have a network of committed partners implementing the strategies and we are evaluating our efforts using community asset mapping, county population-based survey data, qualitative process interviews, focus groups, and program performance measures. Results: The LWA2 coalition is the culmination of years of partnership building which allows for more targeted activities related to health equity in the region. Thus far, the LWA2 coalition is thriving. The network of committed and talented partners in the nutrition strategy (healthy nutrition standards, food systems, and breastfeeding) reached 22 sites and over 46,000 people during the first two years of the project. Process interviews conducted as part of the evaluation identified challenges and successes of implementation, and development of the coalition. Conclusion: This comprehensive evaluation approach supports formative processes, evaluation metrics, and prolonged sustainability plans of this community-based coalition.