African American Health Summit Your Health Is Our Health
A Black Paper to Build Knowledge and Recommend Actions
Moving the work of the African American Health Summit into the Community Health Summit Convened
January 31 - February 1, 2003 by
The Bay Area Black United Fund
The Black Paper - September 2003 Published by the Bay Area Black United Fund with funding from Kaiser Permanente
Editor Woody Carter, Ph.D
Contributing Editors Vera Labat,N.P., M.P.H., Daphne Muse, Colette Winlock
Contributors Sandra Carr, M.A. Mildred Crear, M.P.H., M.A., RN Linda Dails Pat Lyons Eric Mitchell Rita Times, R.N., M.S.N. Asara Tsehai Sandra Witt
Graphics and Printing Hunza Graphics
Cover Design Jeanette Madden
Photographers Troy Dotson Barry A. Evans III
Northern California Kaiser Employees
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The Black Paper 2003
Table of Contents
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SECTION I
Road Map to the Summit
SECTION II
Evaluation Methodology, Participatory Research, and Data Collection
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SECTION III
Insights and Re-Awakenings
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SECTION IV
Key Recommendations and Viable Strategies for Next Steps
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SECTION V
Description of the Summit
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SECTION VI
Next Steps - Community Action Plan
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Appendices
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Page
• APPENDIX-A List of Conference and Health Expo Workshops
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• APPENDIX-B Summary of Summit Health Screenings
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• APPENDIX-C Description of Western Institute for Social Research (WISR) and Participatory Action Research Process
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• APPENDIX-D List of Post-Summit Focus Group Questions
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• APPENDIX-E Acknowledgements
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(L-R) Robert Wilkins, Ceo, YMCA of the Eastbay, LJ Jennings, BABUF Board of Trustees Chairperson, Special Guest Dr. Jocelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General and Billy Blanks, creator of Tae Bo, Dr. Woody Carter, BABUF Executive Director
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SECTION I
Road Map to the Summit
he first Bay Area-wide African American Health Summit (January 31- February 1, 2003) drew over 350 people to Friday’s conference and over 3,500 visitors to the Health Expo held on Saturday. "What I saw was lots of people willing to work together and some critical reflection on how we put all this together to have a positive impact on the community," commented one attendee. For many, "the Summit felt like a family event or family reunion." Others referred to the Summit as informative, inspiring, empowering and helpful in enabling them to connect with others in the community and health field.
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The inclusive and open approach to nine months of planning, that involved twenty-nine (29) community based organizations, three (3) Bay Area public health departments, five (5) public and private corporations and a cadre of health professionals and volunteers, proved to be one of the major strategies for the success of the Summit. However, the impetus for the Summit dates back to two key events: In 2000, The California Endowment awarded the Bay Area Black United Fund (BABUF) a multiple-year grant to address health inequities in Bay Area African American communities. That same year, Arnold Perkins, Director of the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD), convened a meeting of African American leadership to discuss the findings of Alameda County’s Health Disparities Status Report 2000.
Art Chen, Medical Director Alameda Alliance, Billy Blanks, Dianne Omi-Yamashiro, Senior Program Officer, The California Endowment eases, not only when compared to White Americans but when compared to all other racial groups. In 2001, BABUF hosted a series of Community Health Forums in Black neighborhoods throughout Oakland, California. The forums were focused conversations alerting the community that there was a health crisis and provided an opportunity for neighborhood residents to explore possible solutions to address the health needs of the community.
The report presented data highlighting the fact that the County’s African American population failed to meet 14 out of the 19 health indicators or objectives established by the County. And to a large extent, Alameda’s Black community mirrored the health disparities faced by other African American communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and across the nation. African Americans seem to be dying younger and in Alameda are suffering from more dis-
In gathering the insights and wisdom of neighborhood residents in this way, we realized that these community conversations were both meaningful and effective in tapping into what remains deeply rooted in African American experience--the dynamic power and impact of the culture’s oral tradition. (This important insight--utilizing the oral tradition of Black folk as a viable communication and knowledge 7
Conference participants enjoy noon exercise break with fitness instructor Lisa Tealer building tool--also became central to the design and roll-out of the Summit, and the development of a Summit assessment model.)
• Renewing attention to the needs of the elderly, children and youth. • Challenging African American faith-based communities to re-think their role in promoting community health and wellbeing.
In 2002, when BABUF invited community leadership and representatives from health service providers and public and private agencies to participate in planning for a summit, there was early recognition that we were challenged to think about and approach this project in a new way. In response to this challenge, BABUF as convener embraced the planning and development process--and the Summit weekend, itself--as a "catalyst" or vehicle for community knowledge building and as a fulcrum to organize for community action and change.
The Summit also raised several provocative questions that require further study. These questions illustrate the willingness of all involved to try to think beyond the existing paradigms. • How do we involve the very poor and marginalized in the process of reducing health disparities? • In light of limited resources and changes in the economy, how can we challenge ourselves to be change agents? • Is it possible to be healthy and yet poor, financially? • Is there a difference in how African American men and women work in community organizing to reduce health inequities? • What can we learn from examining international models of health care and public health systems to inform our thinking as we move ahead?
While the planning committee understood the importance of advocating for greater access to health care, the committee chose to address at the Summit those social determinants that affect health and that we as individuals and as a community have the power to change--namely, poor nutrition, lack of physical fitness, and lifestyles choices. The committee wanted to refocus the African American community’s attention away from an ailing sick care system to one of promoting community health and wellbeing.
The Black Paper offers an unabashedly African American cultural context for examining the health inequities facing Black communities. The report does not purport to be comprehensive in identifying and addressing key health disparities. Rather, it attempts to reveal major health concerns affecting a range of demographics within the African American community.
As an outcome of the Summit, several important insights were gleaned as priority areas for further action including but not limited to: • Giving greater attention to mental health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the African American community.
BABUF hopes you will approach this report as a working tool to be read, discussed, and debated by 8
(L-R) Robert Wilkins, Bettie L. Coles Senior Vice President, Kaiser, Dr. Jocelyn Elders, Woody Carter ference. We also look forward to continued involvement with Billy Blanks, the "Tae Bo Man," who gave us a model for "walking our talk" and for leading fitness classes that drew a "packed house." From the Summit’s youngest participants to the elders sitting in chairs, the "Tae Bo Man" connected all to his dynamic exercise regime.
community-based providers, health professionals, public health workers, public foundations and faithbased communities. We believe the paper reflects the collective thinking, voice, and will of African American leadership and representatives from Black communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Perhaps, this study will become a guidepost to develop strategies, benchmarks, and action steps to aid in the reduction of health inequities facing African Americans.
BABUF is indebted to and welcomes the continued engagement of the many holistic or complimentary healers in the community. Under the leadership of Asara Tsehai, founder of A Touch of Life, the second floor at the Health Expo was transformed into a center of healing and hope for the thousands of community people who brought their children and families to the event. We are also deeply thankful for
We welcome the continued support and technical assistance of organizations like The California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, the California Healthcare Foundation, Blue Cross of California, the California Wellness Foundation, ANG Newspapers, and the YMCA of the East Bay who were all primary sponsors for the Summit. In addition, we also appreciate the continued assistance of the Alameda County Public Health Department, the Berkeley Public Health Department, and the City and County of San Francisco Public Health Department’s African American Health Initiative as integral partners in sustaining this effort of moving the work and energy derived from the Summit out into the community. We are also grateful to Dr. Jocelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General, for her common sense and humorous approach during her luncheon keynote presentation, and to Dr. Robert Scott who skillfully facilitated our Town Hall meeting on Overcoming the Stigma of Aids during Friday’s Health Summit con-
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Eric Mitchell, Kaiser Senior Gov. Relations Rep. and Melody Powers, Health Summit Publicist
Radio station KBLX staff and Billy Blanks the celestial music and presence of the "Harpist from the Hood" who gave of their time and talent, freely, as a gift to the Summit.
And finally, BABUF is grateful to the scores of health professionals, community leaders, participating researchers, and community volunteers who gave of their time to make the first Bay Area-wide African American Health Summit a family reunion, a laborof-love. Through their collective efforts, they demonstrated that such an event was long overdue for a people who all too often see themselves as a community under siege.
BABUF as convener is also appreciative of the strong but gentle leadership of Colette Winlock, the Summit’s Project Manager, who sustained the task of community planning and organizing along the way. We are thankful to the many volunteer Research Associates who turned in written workshop notes, and for the excellent work done by the evaluation team from the Western Institute for Social Research (WISR), in Berkeley. WISR was sensitive and skillful in designing an assessment tool that immediately recognized the strengths inherent in the oral tradition of African Americans.
Woody Carter, Ph.D. Executive Director Bay Area Black United Fund
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SECTION II
Evaluation Methodology, Participatory Research, and Data Collection OME KEY DEFINITIONS USED IN THIS BLACK PAPER. For clarity, we refer here to several key definitions of terms as found in the Alameda County Health Disparities Report, 2002 (p. 6):
survive, but that we grow and prosper as we live through the twenty-first century? 3. For those resources or strengths (resiliency factors) what will be the indicators and benchmarks for change and success?
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• Health: A complete state of physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing. {World Health Organization-WHO) • Health Disparities: Differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States. {National Institutes of Health--NIH 2001} • Health Inequities: Systematic and important differ ences in health, between different groups of people, that are both preventable and unfair. (Whitehead 1990)
After the Summit, WISR researchers met amongst themselves and with BABUF staff to discuss the information gathered during and after the Summit. The Black Paper grew out of a concerted effort made to collect, distill and in some instances prioritize information and ideas collected from a range of participants during the course of the Summit. • Note-takers recorded some of the highlights and any of the details for most of the ten workshops and think tank sessions held on Friday. • Many of the ideas shared in the afternoon think tank meetings were also recorded on newsprint pads. • The WISR research team included three experi enced African-American community activists and health professionals participating in and observing the activities and climate of both days of the Summit. • The WISR researchers also conducted five follow-up debriefings/focus groups in teams of two, aided by a note-taker for these follow-up sessions. The debriefings were held with workshop session facilitators, complimentary healers who participated in Saturday’s Health Expo, research associates who took notes during Friday’s workshop sessions, members of the planning committee and a group of conference participants who volunteered to participate in a follow-up debriefing. Although the enthusiasm and diligence of the groups sometimes pulled people off course, the richness of ideas, the seriousness of the discourse and the unwavering commitment to address the issues was clearly present. • BABUF collected responses to an evaluation form regarding Friday’s sessions from 52 individuals.
PARTICIPATORY NATURE OF THE RESEARCH-DIRECTING THE RESEARCH/EVALUATION, GATHERING INFORMATION, ANALYZING INFORMATION, AND REPORTING FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Prior to the Summit, BABUF staff and the Western Institute for Social Research (WISR) research/evaluation team met several times to plan strategies, including content of note taking at the Summit and postSummit information gathering. Note-taking suggestions were shared with volunteer research associates who recorded some of the proceedings of the various workshops and think tanks on Day One of the Summit. BABUF and WISR agreed on 10 key questions to guide the gathering and analysis of information. Three of these core questions were used as foci for Summit Think Tank sessions: 1. What resources or strengths do you think African Americans have relied on throughout our history to enable us to survive? In other words, what have been our "resiliency factors"? 2. Building on these "resources or strengths," in what ways might we need to change or adapt these resiliency factors to ensure that we not only 11
ticipatory research. We hope that this Black Paper will encourage the expansion of this type of study as a viable method for conducting community knowledge-building. In addition, the Summit and the participatory research leading to and beyond this Black Paper, has been designed to encourage participants to look at the "bigger picture"--at the larger and deeper social forces that impact wellness, and the promotion of health (mind, body, spirit, community) beyond the sole provision of and access to medical care. The outcome of the research suggests that participants felt rejuvenated by the Summit. They seemed ready to commit time and energy to translating the recommendations coming out of the Summit into specific actions to promote community health and wellness.
Robert Scott, M.D. leads townhall on "Overcoming the Stigma of Aids". THE VALIDITY AND STRENGTHS OF PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH. This participatory research/evaluation approach has built on the extensive wisdom and knowledge of people in African American communities. The Summit successfully brought together a broad range of professionals, policy makers, members of faith-based communities, community activists and foundation executives to share their insights and pool their knowledge to address health inequities effecting African Americans.
It is also hoped that the evidence of this report will encourage donors and others outside the African American community to continue to support this solid and in-depth community research with all the thoughtfulness, resourcefulness, and creativity BABUF has demonstrated in providing leadership in building knowledge and action, hand-in-hand, as the community engages in eliminating African American health inequities. Thirty-three individuals wrote comments on their Evaluation Form. Almost all of them praised the conference, and some of them made suggestions for change. In the evaluations, participants noted:
On Friday, the Summit posed evocative questions and engaged people in dialogue and sharing of ideas about challenges, strengths, and possible next steps. The Health Expo on Saturday provided a glimpse of the kind of actions that can promote wellness, partly by mobilizing greater individual and community participation in knowledge building, knowledge sharing and follow-up actions.
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The researchers devoted a significant amount of attention to eliciting and documenting ideas from Summit participants, during and after the Summit. Considerable effort was put into taking notes to record the wisdom of the participants, and to asking questions of participants during the Summit and in the post-Summit debriefing sessions--so as to learn as much as we could from people throughout the community. Through the research process, WISR’s evaluation team captured insights from the Summit, evaluated the Summit’s effectiveness, and presented recommendations derived from the event by documenting, herein, the collective work of conference participants as a reflection of meaningful and in-depth parAlameda County Public Health Department employees 12
Summary of Evaluation Data and Findings
total of 52 evaluation forms were received at the end of the one-day Summit conference. The following summarizes the findings of the evaluation responses about the conference (However,
please note that not all 52 respondents answered all questions posed in the Survey and, therefore, the total number of responses in each question may vary.)
A
Out of the 52 submissions, participants stated that, overall, the conference was: Very Useful
47
Somewhat Useful
2
Useful
3
Not Useful
0
Ineffective
0
0
Ineffective
0
In rating the Morning Plenary Session, participant responses stated that it was: Very Useful
47
Somewhat Useful
1
Useful
4
Not Useful
There was an overwhelming positive response to Dr. Joycelyn Elders’ keynote presentation at the luncheon: Very Useful
51*
Somewhat Useful
1
Useful
0
Not Useful
0
Ineffective
0
In rating the town hall session on "Overcoming the Stigma of AIDS/HIV participants said: Very Useful
33
Somewhat Useful
9
Useful
4
Not Useful
1
Ineffective
0
1
Ineffective
1
In rating the Closing Plenary Session, participants responses stated that it was: Very Useful
22
Somewhat Useful
10
Useful
5
Not Useful
With regards to the Oakland Marriot City Center as the site for the Summit, participants stated that it was: Very Useful
36
Somewhat Useful
5
Useful
5
Not Useful
1
Ineffective
1
With regards to the overall ratings of the various morning workshops sessions, participants stated that they were: Very Useful
36
Somewhat Useful
5
Useful
6
Not Useful
0
Ineffective
0
With regards to the overall ratings of the various afternoon think tank sessions, participants stated that they were: Very Useful
34
Somewhat Useful
10
Useful
*Out of the 51 “very useful” responses 15 added a + sign 13
5
Not Useful
0
Ineffective
0
Managing the available time, keeping the discussions focused and on target while still eliciting varied and extensive discussion was among the more common suggestions made. Additional suggestions included:
• Everything was wonderful! The presenters/speakers were inspirational, well versed and well-spoken. The whole lunch menu was excellent, tasty, and healthy. Conference organization was seamless and smooth. • Excellent conference. Empowering, refreshing. Full of excitement and wonder--the time flew by. I learned, I laughed, I cried. I was affirmed as an African living in America and survivor of the Middle Passage and segregation! • Speakers were very informative, inspiring just by seeing so many involved and dedicated people. Speakers were knowledgeable and focused. Also time schedule was held to pretty well. Also I recon nected with some people I had not seen for a long time or met some new ones. • This was a very useful conference--much informa tion to take back to my family, church health group and senior group. • The environment was accessible, clean and well lighted. • This conference was great in many ways. First and foremost the keynote speaker put things in your face. The only thing I may change is the setup of the Town Hall meeting.
• Encourage facilitators to get to and stay on point. • Note important benchmarks along the way in order to ensure that key points related to the discussion are brought forward and good questions posed. • Provide a brief summary or recap of earlier sessions and build upon that in order to ensure continuity and refresh people on the ideas discussed earlier. • Organize and manage the time so that questions and their responses are succinct. • Devote more time to the theme or focus of the pres entation and less time to the biographical information related to the facilitator (Note: This can be addressed by including biographical data in the pro gram or directing people to websites and/or publications that contain that information. You also can provide a handout that contains brief profiles on the facilitators and then directs people to a more comprehensive biography. • Review with facilitators strategies to capture the collective thinking and energy that often is generated at conferences and use it to refocus on the content.
There were a relatively small number of recurring suggestions for improvements to the Summit including:
The follow-up debriefing session with volunteer research associates--those who took notes in the various workshop and think tank sessions--provided feedback on how well they were prepared to take notes and what they thought could have been improved. The research associates generally agreed that the briefing session prior to the Summit was very important and useful, and that having questions and themes in advance helped. They also felt that it would have been helpful if they had had more training and guidance in note-taking. In addition, a checklist of what to look out for in workshop and think tank conversations would have been useful and note-taking would have been easier if each associate had been placed in the same content/theme area for both the AM and PM sessions.
• More content geared towards elders, youth and low income people living on the fringes of the community. • Increased focus on mental health and substance abuse. • Greater outreach in East and West Oakland. • Improve system for tracking number of participants. • Provide more comprehensive training for volunteers. • Lower the music. • Increase continuity between morning and afternoon sessions.
Suggestions for improving the planning process, which most agreed went very well, include: • Undertake future Summits when adequate resources are available, for it is a costly and labor-intensive endeavor. • Include people involved in alcohol and drug recovery programs in the planning process. • Attend to the subcommittee work sooner. YMCA of the East Bay staff 14
SECTION III
Insights and Re-Awakenings
The Summit conference produced substantive thinking and detailed discussion on a range of important issues and ideas related to health inequities in AfricanAmerican communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area but, especially, the East Bay. Some of the major themes, among the resulting insights and reawakenings, are chronicled below. Using the oral tradition as a primary framework for gathering information, this report--and particularly this segment and the following recommendation section--incorporates excerpts from the stories of mental health professionals, county administrators, community organizers/activists, public health officials, corporate executives, foundation officers and health practitioners of both traditional and complementary medicine presented at the conference. These comments capture how illness "rules" and chronicles an increasing awareness of how wellness must be valued.
Then, how can we deal with mental health? I almost think the entire Black community should be lying on a couch. It seems like we’re running to die. Would you use the same approach to treat a patient versus a community? We still don’t want to talk about slavery, being survivors. Let’s not look at being Black as a liability; look at it as a strength. We need to reclaim our stories. There are political, social, and emotional issues we need to talk through and like Holocaust survivors, we need to talk about our history." Others commented on the challenges posed by the issue of internalized shame and people’s images of themselves. "Blacks aren’t looked on positively. In the movie, Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored, the Black community is shown respectfully. We used to respect our leaders, identify with them and embrace positive images of ourselves. There are so many negative images in newspapers. The conditions of racism and the larger socio-political environment may get worse in the near future," noted another participant.
GIVE GREATER ATTENTION TO MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND TO POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY. In the face of current and past trauma as well as the constant onslaught of negative images in the media, strategically addressing the concerns around mental health must become more central to the ongoing discussions. "I never thought about how PTSD plays into African American mental health or about how trauma and stress are passed from generation to generation. There are not enough therapists out there who understand the African American community," noted a participant. One of the therapist in attendance recommended that the question of slavery be incorporated into any discussion about trauma.
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"A national study recently released by the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, and sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, stated that Blacks in the 100 largest U.S. cities and suburbs made "marked" improvements in key health indicators during the 1990s, boosted by rising incomes and better access to health care," was shared by a participant. If in fact this study is correct, then we may expect a gross worsening of health among African Americans in the present and the foreseeable future. Worsening economic conditions and the drastic reduction in access to health care due, in part, to rising health care costs will play a key role and, in turn, will increase the ranks of the uninsured and unemployed in the Black community. The challenge is to develop better models for improving African American health, in spite of the prevailing conditions. BABUF could help facilitate this process and work with communities to develop strategies to address health concerns.
Discovering the connections between racism, internalized shame, and health consciousness was an ongoing theme and conversation throughout the Summit. One participant put it this way, "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), like a lot of mental health issues and HIV/AIDS, is stigmatized. 15
"Structures of Health Fairs’—exercise, cooking, access to medical services, etc., so that there are more hands on activities." Complimentary healers preferred the term "wellness" to "health." Seeing the relationship between individual and community wellness a participant noted, "The African American community is tired of hearing negative news and terms about their circumstances. It’s tricky; we may need more positive messages to get more people out." A focus on affirmations played a significant role in the tone throughout the Summit. Several participants made sound suggestions for encouraging more holistic healing services to promote community wellness, including the: • Use of meditation to help people deal with hypertension and stress. • Development of hands on health Expos that include physical exercise, cooking classes, information on better access to medical and complimentary health services. • Creation of greater and more community-based access to health and social services to deal with the increasing number of African Americans dying so young. • Increase in preventive care and the number of nurses in schools.
Master Yoga Instructor Bobbie Norisse... EMPHASIZE COMMUNITY WELLNESS. Many people noted that both days of the Summit were about health and wellbeing, not illness. The Summit successfully brought people together to pay attention to their individual health as well as that of the community. The Summit served as a much needed call for action and renewal of spirit. Several participants described the Summit Conference and Health Expo as a ‘family reunion’ or a renewal of hope. It captured a need people seemed to have been harboring to come together and do something good for themselves and the community. A number of people mentioned the challenge of rebuilding a system of "resiliency factors" in the African American community--ways of coping with and standing up to adversity which once was one of the roles and functions of family and a close knit African American community that is not present today. More people are trying to cope with life on their own without family or community support, without success.
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SUPPORT AFRICAN AMERICAN KNOWLEDGEBUILDING. One of the strengths of the Summit was the way in which it built on the strengths of African American traditions of sharing and building knowledge. As one person observed, "The most powerful speakers, probably without a real conscious awareness, were displaying the "oral tradition of imparting wisdom." It is well documented that this is one of the most effective methods of sharing messages in African American culture. Dr. Jocelyn Elders, Arnold Perkins and Dr. Vicky Alexander all talked about disparities (health and beyond) by incorporating humor, history, folktales and word plays with hard facts and data. Many professionals heard things with a new ear. It was so powerful to hear over and over again, the connection with our roots and the oral tradition.
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The role of holistic medicine, and how it can compliment conventional modalities, was broadly discussed. Along with getting holistic providers out into the community, schools and churches, real emphasis was placed on creating awareness about the legitimacy of disciplines within the broad field of complementary medicine. Noting some of the progress already made, another participant stated, "Saturday’s Health Expo took activities to the community so people could see how things can be done. I’ve been rethinking
While participants consistently emphasized the importance of solution and action-oriented knowledge, several people noted that we should not focus our efforts on health disparities research. Notwithstanding the need to examine the disparities, we need to deal with strategic solutions at this point.
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..and Health Expo morning yoga class Indeed, this Black Paper is relaying people’s suggestions for how to build knowledge and action, handin-hand, to address health inequities. Anchored in the vision, goals and objectives of the Summit, The Black Paper raises significant questions related to how we move forward and support continued knowledgebuilding and collaborative actions.
I had no idea there were so many involved in health promotion and complimentary health." There were a number of participants involved in health and wellness as opposed to medical care. They seem not to be well known; people are not aware of them. These holistic healers really appreciated the opportunity and recognition they received, especially since often they are treated as second class professionals by mainstream medical providers. A number of these complimentary health practitioners were very enthusiastic about being involved in Summit follow-up activities, both as individuals and as a recognized group.
COME TOGETHER IN A POSITIVE WAY TO MOTIVATE AND RE-AWAKEN AFRICAN AMERICAN HEALTH PRACTITIONERS. As one health professional said, the Summit "helped me as a professional to spend some concerted time looking at what do I really want to do." In the various ways in which the Summit brought people together, it was seen as a springboard for positive action. a) an opportunity to move forward with immediate action and build on the number and diversity of people present; b) beyond the numbers of participants, the Summit was seen as a hopeful experience, where people shared positive energy and the rich content suggesting healthy directions for African American people; c) an opportunity to begin and extend dialogue among people who wouldn’t otherwise be conversing with one another; and d) a model, at the least and a springboard at best, for more extensive regional or even national efforts. A particular accomplishment of Saturday’s Health Expo was to bring into public view holistic health practitioners who are available and committed to serving African American communities. One very knowledgeable, longtime health professional noted that [I learned about the] "wealth of health professionals in the Black community.
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CREATE A SAFE AND NURTURING PLACE FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS TO ADDRESS INEQUITIES. Stimulated by a comfortable atmosphere, the level of inquiry at the Summit produced solid insights and energized many who attended. A participant noted, "The Summit was healing in and of itself." As a result of focusing on the health and wellness of Black people a greater level of comfort was established for many participants. In no way did the level of comfort diminish the professionalism, nor did it distract from the focus. Even the planning team for the Summit felt that their efforts were aided by the way BABUF provided vision, "space" and support for them. There was both an ease and forthrightness with which people addressed the criticisms often leveled against our community/our people. "Some people in other ethnic groups say they’re tired of hearing about our problems. You’ve been around for more than 400 years and haven’t done anything about it," stated a participant. With our ongoing mission
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before us, participants used such statements to deepen the discussion and address the urgency of the myriad of health-related issues facing the black community.
said that we are afraid of our youth and do not acknowledge them. We should show them love. A retired nurse stated that 75% of the children in foster care homes are children of color. And, Dr. Michael Penn, Health Commissioner in San Francisco, added that young people would feel more empowered if we helped give them a voice and if we were more involved in their education. Participants also discussed the challenge of improving our educational system and the need to advocate for our youth, even if the system lacks sufficient resources.
TAKE NOTE OF THE RESILIENCY FACTORS WHICH HISTORICALLY HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT TO THE SURVIVAL OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE. Discussions at the Summit identified a number of important "resiliency factors" African Americans have relied on to survive, including the role that spirituality and religion, humor and understanding our "peculiar" history have played in shaping our lives. The diverse roles of African American women as breadwinners, nurturers, and links to the past and present were also examined. Returning once again to the concept of "it takes a village to raise a child," participants were eager to shore up the village and balance the responsibilities for child rearing, maintaining traditions, building community and promoting the resourcefulness that has sustained Black people for so long.
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Along with challenging both teachers and students, other suggestions included: • Using venues that attract youth for education and learning. i.e., music, videos, school-based services • Creating church-based messages for youth • Implementing adopt-a-school programs and afterschool programs. • Affirming our children by telling them they are somebody
One participant summed up the following key focus areas as themes that arose from this part of the discussion: • The structure of the extended family • Religion--practicing and living in faith • Moral obligations to others • Nutritional sustainability and self-reliance • Physical exercise and body strengthening • Music, relaxation and cultural practices (e.g. dance)
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This same participant also offered an historical perspective in noting that, "living an agrarian lifestyle in the old South deepened African American’s spiritual connection, our struggle for survival, and our religious involvement. Historically, within Black communities, people who were educated lived in these communities and were viewed as role models for others. They demonstrated good citizenship, what it took to be successful and prosper, economically. The entire community supported Black businesses. Education was valued; knowledge was something people sought and people were open to learning and trying new things. The survival skills Black folk learned were honed out of racial oppression and segregation. The need to survive remains something African Americans remain keenly aware of."
Others noted, "The church needs to be a lot stronger in taking up some of the [community’s] issues and with particular focus on the health of the community. It [the church] used to be a place where people could go and talk; a forum for discussion and advocacy. Now, there is no place where people’s voices and concerns can be heard and where strong collective advocacy can be expressed as well. That needs to change."
INCREASE AND CHANGE THE ROLE(S) OF THE BLACK CHURCH. Several participants discussed the church with both hope and dissatisfaction. As one person said, "At the Summit, there was a lot of focus on family and on church, church, church. The importance of the church has been recognized for a long time, but how do you change the role the church is willing and ready to take?"
Some participants noted that African Americans have been over-reliant on the perceived role of the church; especially, at a time when far fewer people in the community actually go to church. One participant went on to say, "we don’t talk about the backbiting [that goes on in churches]; the reasons why many churches are dysfunctional. There is an exclusive, not inclusive, attitude [in many congregations]." This participant was adamant about what she perceived is a lack of strong religious and spiritual leadership; the kind of leadership that helped Black people move beyond slavery.
GIVE RENEWED ATTENTION TO THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH. Participants gave considerable attention to the value, importance and wellbeing of children and youth. One woman
7
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SECTION IV
Key Recommendations and Viable Strategies for Next Steps INVOLVE MORE ELDERS IN PROGRAMMATIC EFFORTS. Elders represent a level of success and sustainability that often is overlooked and under valued. There is a real need for more focus on aging, especially meeting the challenges of aging successfully. Collecting and shaping the oral histories of our elders is certain to reveal how many of them survived hardships, accomplished their goals and found success in growing older. Having elders as panelists and participants would result in even greater insights and another essential investment in the overall well-being of the community.
nity closer together to find its’ own solutions to health concerns.
1
ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF YOUTH AND SCHOOLS MORE EFFECTIVELY. A sense of urgency and possibility was demonstrated clearly by comments made about the need for greater emphasis on health education and physical fitness for K-12 students. In addition, suggestions were made about how schools could better serve the community as a whole as a place where neighborhood people could gather to discuss community issues. Several participants also stressed the need for a closer, more integrated and working relationship between the community, the schools, superintendents and school boards, and the public health departments, i.e. school sites used also as multi-service centers.
3
ENCOURAGE AND INITIATE GREATER INVOLVEMENT IN ACTIVITIES THAT WILL CREATE BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS. Summit participants often said that we need to take greater self-responsibility through self-care and not lose hope in the face of worsening societal conditions. "The real work that lies ahead is to increase and sustain the involvement of those individuals and communities at greatest risk, and helping to develop and implement solutions to their health problems. It’s the loss of hope, combined with social and economic hardships that are having the greatest impact on the health of African American communities rather than the often quoted access to health care issues," was an observation put forth by a participant. People called for more concerted political action—letters, petitions, getting out the vote and using our political power.
2
INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION ABOUT HEALTH INEQUITIES. A number of conference participants emphasized the need for more outreach to seniors, youth, those who live on the fringes of society, and for more collaboration with substance abuse program providers. The Saturday Health Expo emerged as an effective model for developing smaller neighborhood health fairs throughout the community. Such fairs, for example, could be held at schools and churches. They need to be more physically inter-active and inter-generational in raising awareness and sharing information about both traditional and complimentary health practices and resources.
4
Returning to the adage of "each one, teach one," this phrase was emphasized and the importance of African American knowledge-building was affirmed. It was also affirmed that research conducted by Black scholars and Black health professional organizations also needs to be seriously considered. It was noted by a participant "we don’t quote our associations of Black psychologists or physicians. We need to rely on our own analysis of issues and not have someone else tell us [about ourselves]." Feeling inspired to take action, people were eager to initiate a process that would bring the commu-
One very knowledgeable, longtime health professional noted that "[I learned about the] wealth of African American health professionals in the Black community. I had no idea there were so many Black health professionals involved in health promotion and alternative healing practices." The information disseminated and presentations held at the Summit made it apparent that there is an increasing number of health and wellness providers serving our communities and that our health is about so much more than "medical care."
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Blue Cross representatives CREATE MORE EFFECTIVE COLLABORATIONS AND INTEGRATION OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. One participant stated that "around the globe people and organizations are involved in addressing community needs through collaborative efforts quite creatively. In Cuba, for example, block captains play vital roles just as they do in Albany, California, where checking on elders in the community is a real priority. This type of model is being used in Berkeley as well. And in parts of Tanzania, for every 10 houses there’s a community leader to help look after the needs of those families."
• Organize schools and churches to participate more effectively in community building and related projects. • Use BABUF’s data-base to conduct follow-up activities among participating organizations, health professionals, individuals and foundations, etc. • Create an association of holistic health providers who could work, together, with allopathic providers to create a multi-disciplinary approach to prevention programs and services addressing health issues, and that will also participate in health fairs.
5
CONNECT COMMUNITY OUTREACH STRATEGIES AND BABUF’S HEALTH RE-GRANTING PROGRAM. BABUF’s re-granting program could encourage more effective collaborative efforts by awarding "seed money" to organizations that are willing to provide leadership by demonstrating how to pool limited resources to address health needs. From nutrition and exercise to supporting the development of other community wellness projects, resources must be identified and secured. One person at the Summit provided an example of resources that need to be pooled at the community level in asking "how do you connect a community-based sustainable agriculture project, like the Eco-Village in Richmond, to churches?" Seed funds could also support the start-up of new services, where the pool of existing programs is inadequate. BABUF could hire a coordinator to facilitate networking
6
A follow-up with Summit participants and dialogue at more public forums could promote better collaborative efforts as well as neighborhood organizing and grassroots participation to address health inequity issues. A participant wanted to know, "What’s keeping people from collaborating right now?" Summit findings should be presented to groups at churches, civic groups, African American sororities and fraternities, etc. These organizations need to be asked to consider what roles they can play to promote health and community wellness. We should also acknowledge that there is real potential in nurturing more collaboration at the neighborhood level. Other specific suggestions included:
20
amongst community service providers and build grassroots community collaborations. A website that includes a calendar of events such as community health fairs and information and resource sharing, in general, would also be a useful tool. The website would provide a way for connecting people to other communities that have addressed with some success some of the same challenges we are now facing in our own community.
stream institutions in partnership with the community could promote greater financial literacy in African American communities, and provide capital and technical assistance to promote increased small business development. REFRAME AND REVITALIZE THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH AS A PLACE FOR COMMUNITY FORUMS. Many people expressed the hope that churches could assume an expanded role in the community. Participants felt that it was important to encourage more Black churches to get involved in promoting community health and wellness--beyond hosting annual health fairs. One person, for example, called upon faith communities to denounce practices that keep people from dealing with such health issues as HIV/AIDS. Another person added, "We need to break the silence and engage our youth and adults in meaningful conversations about sexuality." Addressing the issue of internalized shame is also critical as it exacerbates the stigmatization of those in our community who suffer from HIV/AIDS. Another person summed up the viewpoint of many, "If our families and youth are in trouble, our churches are in trouble. We need to push Black churches to do more."
9
BABUF could also fund gatherings to promote collaborations in the community and provide grants to support media campaigns, technical assistance, and training activities. ESTABLISH SAFE PLACES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS TO CONGREGATE AND TALK. Summit follow-up should include holding town hall meetings and other public forums, using this Black Paper and the Alameda County Healthy People 2000 Report [or statistical data and health reports published in each respective Bay Area county] as a basis for initiating conversations in communities about health inequities, and promoting community health and wellbeing. Public health departments should also be encouraged to host a series of conversations specifically focused on addressing African American health disparities and to mobilize people and community service providers to address disparity issues and concerns.
7
Several participants expressed what they viewed as a chronic problem in many Black churches in stating that people come to church, but few are willing to actually
As a follow-up to the Summit and subsequent community outreach, there needs to be a northern California African American Health Summit or even a regional, national and/or a teen summit. EXPLORE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND POSITIVE HEALTH OUTCOMES. One area requiring much more attention and discussion is the relationship between economic development and health in African American communities. Increasing employment opportunities, small business development, and a degree of self-sufficiency are critical to the long-term health of all communities. However, Black communities have not had equal access to capital markets to support and sustain meaningful economic development and community wellbeing.
8
Summit participants recommended that BABUF bring together credit unions, the Community Bank of the East Bay, and other financial institutions and advisors to examine the relationship between a community’s financial health and a community’s wellbeing. The challenge for such a project would be to recommend ways mainDestiny Muhammed “Harpist from the Hood” 21
go out into neighborhoods and volunteer to do community service. People are often too busy with their own social agendas and jobs or afraid of violence in the community to get out in neighborhoods and spend time with youth and other people. There has to be a recommitment from church leadership to be involved in the community in some organized way. Other, specific suggestions include: • Churches could sponsor more talks about health issues and how to address them; be a conduit for the distribution of healthy and fresh foods [i.e. farmer’s markets] • Churches need to be opened weekdays and provide space for more after-school programs for children--at least one to three times per week. • More pastors should set an example for their congregations by getting health screenings, themselves, and tests for health conditions, i.e. prostrate cancer screenings for men; mammograms for women, etc. • Churches need to have Health Councils to focus on hypertension and stress-related illnesses, and other health conditions. RECLAIM AND REBUILD OUR RESILIENCY. Many of the above recommendations point toward a paradigm of wholeness. A perspective that is not individualistic or disease-based, but rather one that is community-oriented and wellnessbased, grounds most of our recommendations. According to a seasoned participant, "Things are somewhat better, but not with regard to our overall health. We’ve taken on this rugged individualism and dismissed the need for community. As we well know, community cohesion is essential to both our individual health and collective wellbeing.
10
Participants gave voice to the need to strengthen those resiliency factors that have contributed to our survival as a people by reclaiming and adapting or rebuilding them. They also stated that there needs to be more Black-owned businesses in the community to re-circulate money through African American hands. The opinion was expressed that while many African Americans fully embrace a consumer lifestyle, small Black businesses do not necessarily benefit from the circulation of Black consumer dollars. One conference participant stated, "We really need to change our attitudes around this notion [if we are going to be successful in supporting economic development in African American communities]. If we believe in what we’re worth, so will others." FUTURE SUMMITS WILL CONTINUE TO BE VITALLY IMPORTANT; IF THEY REMAIN FORUMS TO BUILD THE COMMUNITY’S KNOWLEDGE BASE AND AS CATALYSTS FOR ACTION. Participants were eager for more discussions to explore culturally based solutions to address health issues, and recommended that future summits be undertaken when resources are available. Working towards a community commitment and action plan was also a goal for many participants, and they felt strongly that a sign-up board or book at the Summit would have helped in recruiting volunteers for follow-up action, feedback, and in planning next steps.
11
There was also general consensus that the public relations/community outreach strategy for the Summit was effective and should be utilized, again, to provide for community outreach and advertise future summits.
(L-R) Linda Dails, BABUF Staff, Woody Carter, Dwaye Wiggins, Colette Winlock, Summit Coordinator, Lattice Banks, Logistics Coordinator
SECTION V
Description of the African American Health Summit he success of the Bay Area's first African American Health Summit can be attributed to both the development and creativity of an effective collaborative team and network of volunteers-representing community leadership, public health workers, health professionals, health-related community-based organizations, faith-based institutions, and the holistic health community. (Refer to Acknowledgement section in the Appendices for more detail.) These volunteers made-up the Summit’s Planning Committee that was engaged in a twelvemonth planning process which included regular committee meetings, site visits, recruitment activities, and deepening levels of discussion and celebration.
T
GOALS FOR THE SUMMIT At the beginning of the process, the Planning Committee set goals and objectives for the two-day health summit. They served as guideposts for the development of programming for the event. There were two goals for Friday’s Summit conference:
Geoffrey Watson, M.D., Watson Wellness Center Setting goals for each day was informed by recommendations from Alameda County’s Health Disparities Framework report that recognized the need for the County to shift its focus or paradigm "from individual-level treatment to population level prevention; namely, to "initiate community-wide health promotion campaigns." A second recommendation from the report that influenced goal setting for the Summit related to the County’s proposed shift to placing greater emphasis on strengthening "community capacity for reducing health disparities" through enhancing "existing community capacity." Specifically, increasing "social connectedness and inclusion" and supporting "residents and community organizations in addressing their health priorities."
• Convene a diverse array of African American leader ship in the San Francisco Bay Area to address disparities in the health of African Americans. • Facilitate dialogue, discussion and workshops that critically reflect on the status of African American health inequities; create awareness of best practices and strategies; and engages support for health initiatives in African American communities. There were also two goals set for the Summit’s Saturday Health Expo: • Offer African American individuals and families an interactive, hands on, intergenerational event focused on health education, nutrition and exercise. • Encourage participants to make a conscious choice to begin one or more changes in their lifestyle that promotes healthier living and offer activities that could support these changes.
THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM The summit started with a conference for Bay Area African American health leadership on Friday, January 31, 2003, that included a morning plenary with presentations made by public health officials 23
Rita Times, President, Bay Area Black Nurses Association
Brenda Yamashita, Project Director,Diabetes Program
from Alameda County, the City and County of San Francisco, the City of Berkeley, a minority health official from Region IX, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a representative from the holistic health field, and BABUF’s Executive Director. Morning workshops centered around five different focus areas: Cultural Competency; Access to Health Care; Public Awareness and Education; Self-Care, Exercise and Lifestyles; and the Socio-Political Environment.
Featured guests included fitness instructor Billy Blanks, "the Tae Bo Man", entertainer Dewayne Wiggins, vocalist Goapele and culinary chef Leslie James. Senior advocates hosted the Senior Plaza with an array of services available to seniors and their caregivers. The Health Insurance Pavilion was open during the day to answer questions regarding health insurance. A youth focused program "Holla for your Health" presented young Bay Area talent promoting a healthy message. The YMCA of the East Bay provided thousands of square feet of fitness activities and games along with UC Berkeley's Rock Wall and interactive exhibitors. Health Expo attendees were engaged in activities throughout the entire day.
Former Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Jocelyn Elders, followed by a town hall meeting led by Dr. Robert Scott on "Overcoming the Stigma of Aids," delivered the luncheon keynote presentation. The day concluded with afternoon think tank sessions in the five focus areas and a closing plenary session. THE SUMMIT’S HEALTH EXPO A health expo, a day for hands-on engagement of the community and service providers, was held on Saturday, February 1, 2003. Three floors of activities were offered with the first floor focused on fitness and nutrition, the second floor on holistic health and community education, and the third floor devoted to conducting health screenings. Participants were encouraged to visit all three floors by filling out a Health Passport that once completed made them eligible for prizes.
Chef Leslie James, LL Culinary Academy 24
SECTION VI
Next Steps: The Community Action Plan s convener, BABUF’s primary focus has been the development of a Community Action Plan (CAP) charting next steps to move the work and positive energy of the African American Health Summit into Bay Area African American communities. Central to creating "next steps" has been building consensus among key community constituents and organizational leadership on how best to grow a movement--a movement to create a critical mass1 of African Americans in communities committed to personally modeling healthier lifestyles; lifestyles devoted to improving diets, increasing physical exercise, and changing those aspects of daily living that detract from sustaining healthier lives. Community members that choose to join this movement will become evangelical about sharing their new awareness and lifestyle with others.
aggregate number of years Council members have worked in the areas of community service, community organizing, or on community health issues). The key responsibilities of the Council of Elders are to:
A
• Assist in strategic planning and fund development for hosting the Second African American Health Summit to be held in February 2005. (This Council will not serve as the planning committee for the next summit) • Provide for, where appropriate, the visible use of the existing African American Health Summit logo at community health-related events. • Act as a resource to leadership groups building collaborative relationships to share information and resources, and potential funding sources that support focused community efforts. Current members of the Council of Elders include senior management representatives from the YMCA of the East Bay, Healthy Oakland, The Greenlining Institute, the African American Wellness Project, the Bay Area Black United Fund (convener), and public agencies including the Alameda County Public Health Department, the Berkeley Public Health Department, the City and County of San Francisco Public Health Department’s African American Health Initiative, Kaiser Permanente, and holistic health business owners A Touch of Life and Living Vibrance.
The CAP also encourages African American communities to be more engaged in addressing social and public policy issues that put up barriers--i.e., hamper access to fresh and healthy foods, unaffordable health insurance, and etc.-- to creating healthy communities through the collaborative and networking efforts of a lead agency. As part of building consensus around a CAP, a Health Summit Reconvening was held June 13, 2003, at the YMCA of the East Bay. Over one hundred attendees participated in this half-day session to review draft insights and recommendations derived from the Summit presented, here, in Sections III and IV.
LEAD ORGANIZATIONS AND CLUSTER AREAS In addition, incorporated into the CAP is the work of four lead organizations whose purpose is to organize and implement community-based activities in five cluster areas: Access to Health Care; Public Health and Education; Lifestyle, Self-Care and Physical Exercise, and the Socio-Political Environment (A lead agency for a fifth cluster on Cultural Competency
COUNCIL OF ELDERS The CAP is a dynamic, multi-pronged, approach lead by a newly formed post Summit steering committee or Council of Elders (characterized by the
1 We define, here, "building critical mass" as creating awareness and action to reduce health disparities in Bay Area African American communities in at least 1% of the field (the "field" being defined as the numerical population of African Americans in any given county or community).
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remains to be arranged.) Key responsibilities for lead agencies are: • Participate as an active member of the Council of Elders (steering committee). • Create strategies to recruit and organize community service providers and interested individuals to participate in collaborative efforts in their particular cluster group. • Establish a communications and networking system, and maintain contact with members in their particular cluster. • Design and implement a health promotion and media campaign through utilizing Bay Area media and especially Black media.
the Summit is continued at the community-level and in smaller groups--to bring the findings and recommendations presented in this Black Paper to an increasing number of Bay Area African Americans.
CONTACT INFORMATION
As an integral part of community outreach, BABUF intends to encourage and support where possible the efforts of culturally-based complimentary health providers in their desire to organize themselves and expand their services in communities. The Council of Elders recognizes that to a large extent the community’s internal capacity to embrace and promote health and wellness--as opposed to focusing on disease and sickness--rests on the continued integration and expansion of holistic health services on multiple levels; services that will require increased public awareness and community education regarding the benefits of complimentary medicine modalities by trained culturally-based professionals.
PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS In addition, the three participating public health departments--with jurisdictions in Alameda, Berkeley and San Francisco counties--are providing leadership in hosting regional gatherings of public health workers to discuss this on-going community-based health initiative and explore possible ways to support it. HOLISTIC HEALTH PROVIDERS
Lead Agencies, their cluster area and contact information are: Access to Health Care – African American Wellness Project Contact: Zandra Washington 510.435.9448 email: sankofaconsulting@yahoo.com Public Awareness and Education – Healthy Oakland Contact: Pastor Raymond Lankford 510.858.7292 email: healthyoakland@execs.com Lifestyle, Self-Care and Physical Exercise – YMCA of the East Bay Contact: Annette Bethea 510.451.9622 email: abethea@ymcaeastbay.org
BABUF’S POST-SUMMIT RE-GRANTING PROGRAM
Socio – Political Environment – The Greenlining Institute Contact: Paul Turner 415.547.7552 email: paulhturner@greenlining.org
Through a multiple-year grant from The California Endowment, BABUF is providing "seed funding" to lead agencies to implement their cluster action plans and a technical assistance grant to insure that the coordination and implementation of the CAP moves forward. BABUF also supports the work of the Council of Elders to complete both a strategic plan and fund development plan as necessary steps in preparing and securing resources for the second Bay Area-wide African American Health Summit for 2005.
The Bay Area Black United Fund (BABUF), Convener Contact: Colette Winlock 510.763.7270 email: cwinlock@babuf.org These lead agencies are working, together, to host a year of gatherings or convening’s where work begun at
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Appendices
27
28
Appendix-A
List of Workshops presented at the African American Health Summit
JANUARY 31, 2003, FRIDAY, CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS Panel Presentations’ Focus Areas:
Lifestyle, Self-care and Exercise
Cultural Competency
The Socio-Political Environment
Education/Public Awareness
Afternoon "think tank" sessions in same focus areas
Access to Health Care FEBRUARY 1, 2003, SATURDAY, HEALTH EXPO COMMUNITY EDUCATION CLASSES Reiki: an alternative way to reduce stress
Men’s spirituality
Goddess Bootcamp
A natural approach to treating ADD/ADHD
Child Obesity; is it just baby fat?
How to live your optimal health
What you don’t know about fast food could be dangerous
Spiritual weight release Promoting self-esteem in our girls
Healing from Enslavement
Turning your house into a healing sanctuary
Fitness at any size
Teen Choices
What grandma knew about herbs Wonder Womb
Faith based approaches to promoting health in the community
Stop smoking naturally
Midlife and menopause in women
Accupuncture – does it work?
Men’s health panel
Natural hair care
Women’s health panel
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African American Health Summit Conference Presenters and Facilitators MORNING PLENARY SESSION
Luretha Senyo-Mensa, Program and Policy Associate, Alameda Health Consortium
Karolyn Van Putten, Ph.D., Arts Medicine
Odessa Bolton, MHSA, Program Manager, Blue Cross of California
Mildred Crear, MPH, M.A. R.N., Director SF Public Health Maternal & Child Health Section
Latonya Slack, Executive Director, California Black Women’s Health Project
LJ Jennings, Chair, Board of Trustees, Bay Area Black United Fund
Dr. Frank Staggers, Sr., M.D., Chair Ethnic Health Institute
Woody Carter, Executive Director, Bay Area Black United Fund
Rita Stuckey, R.N., M.P.A., Director of Older Adult Services, Bay Area Community Services
Arnold Perkins, Director Alameda County Public Health Department
Mark Alexander, Ph.D., 100 Black Men Health Awareness Committee
Christine Perez, Regional Minority Health Consultant, Region IX, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Ralph L. Petersen, M.D., Chair, 100 Black Men Health and Awareness Committee
Vicki Alexander, M.D. Director Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, Berkeley Public Health Department
Pamela Balls Organista, Ph.D, Professor School of Psychology University of San Francisco
Asara Tsehai, Wholistic Health Educator, A Touch of Life
Toni Martin, M.D., Clinical Faculty, University California, San Francisco
MORNING PANELISTS Shakti Butler, Ph.D. World Trust Institute
Kimi Watkins-Tartt, Deputy Director, Alameda County Public Health Department Community Health Services Division
Melanie Tervalon, M.D., African American Wellness Project
Paul Turner, Senior Program Manager, Greenlining Institute
Norm Nickens, J.D., Director Equal Employment Opportunity, SF Department of Public Health
Linda Handy, M.S., Community Liason Coordinator, La Cheim Psychological Services
Olis Simmons, Perinatal/Children's Services Coordinator, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency
Cynthia Selmar, Director S.F. Department of Public Health, African American Health Initiative Robert Phillips, Senior Program Associate, Policy Link
Geoffrey Watson, M.D., J.A. Watson Wellness Center
LUNCHEON SPEAKERS
Gloria Brown, Chair, African American Community Health Advisory Mills Pennisula Health Services
Robert Wilkins, CEO, YMCA of the East Bay Bettie Coles, Senior Vice President and East Bay Service Area Manager, Kaiser Permanente
Ginger Smyly, Director of Community Health Promotion and Prevention, SF Department of Public Health
Jocelyn Elders, M.D., Former US Surgeon General Robert Scott, M.D.
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AFTERNOON "THINK TANK" SESSION
Rita Times, R.N., M.S.N., Bay Area Black Nurses Association
Rev. Phil Lawson, Easter Hill Church
Rev., Cheryl D. Elliott, Allen Temple Baptist Church
Taj Johns, M.A., Assistant to the City Manager, Berkeley
Bob Isom, Nurse Manager, SF Public Health Department
Rev. Frank Jackson, Faith Presbryterian Church Rev., Dr. Arthur L. Jarret, Trinity Baptist Church
Rev. Lyneice Pinkard, First Congregational Church
African American Health Summit Health Expo Community Health Classes Larry Austin, YMCA Future Choices Program
Gwen Moore, African-American Task Force Representative
Crystal Beverly, Certified Health Educator
Dinndayal Morgan, Director International Associaton of Black Yoga Teachers
Elon Bomani, Khemetic Naturalist Shene Bowie, Health Educator
Rev. Eloise Oliver, E.B. Church of Religious Science
Woody Carter, Executive Director BABUF
Arisika Rozak, Licensed Midwife
India Collins, Progressive Health Practitioner
Nadia Rashid, Yoga Instructor
Nsoah Chionesu, Acupuncturist Loretta Green, CPT, Phd Epidemiology
Min. Charles Stewart, St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church
Chris Hoskins, Yoga Instructor
Stanford GEMS Program
Robin James, Reiki Practitioner
Lisa Tealer, Plus Size Aerobics Instructor
Jazz’z, San Francisco Hair Salon
Raichelle Toole, Licensed Spiritual PractitionerRadiant Health & Wellness Coach
Lolita Thomas Kendrick, Life Coach and Strategist Kern County Community
Asara Tsehai, African Medicine Woman/Holistic Health Educator
Mallie Latham, Director of Recovery Ministry, McGee Baptist Church
Dr. Kweli Tutashinda, Hotep Chiropractic Dr. Geoffrey Watson, Watson Wellness Center
Ted Marsh, Master Coach
Carmen West, Fitness Expert
Bobbe Norrise, Master Yoga Instructor
Westside Community Mental Health Center
Amewoke Nunyakpe, Hip Hop Yogi
Lienzie Williams, Master Tai Chi Instructor
Brenda McClendon/Ahmondra
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Appendix-B
Summary of Summit Health Screenings
The Following table lists the number of attendees who participated in the various health screenings: SCREENING AGENCY
SCREENING TYPE
NUMBER SCREENED
Alameda County Health Department Administered by Bay Area Black Nurses
Glucose/Cholesterol Screening
101 screened • 3 abnormal glucose levels • 2 with diabetes
City Center Dental
Oral exam with Ultra-Oral Camera
90 screened/16 referrals
100 Black Men Health and Wellness Committee
Body Mass Index (BMI)
88 screened • 16 (18%) ideal weight • 24 (27%) overweight • 48 (55%) obese
Prevent Blindness
Vision Screening
37 adults screened • 6 referred to a physician
Ethnic Health Institute Prostate Cancer Screening Program
Prostate
95 men screened • 106 women (viewed Prostate education video/completed survey)
The National Kidney Foundation
Kidney screening
121 screened
Jam packed Tae Bo class during the Summit’s Health Expo 32
Appendix-C
Description of Western Institute for Social Research (WISR) and Participatory Action-Research Used WISR offers individualized, state-approved BA and MA programs in Psychology, Human Services and Community Development, and Social Sciences. They also offer a MA program in Education and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Higher Education and Social Change. The MA program in Psychology has an option that leads toward the State’s Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) License. WISR is a multiethnic place of learning for working adults who choose to focus on community improvement, social change and educational innovation.
ference in the communities in which they live and/or work. Such research has great potential for creating imaginative and powerful insights, empowering participants and bringing about community improvements, social justice and equality.
In 1980, WISR was one of 80 institutions of higher education nationally to receive a major grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education to do a nationwide demonstration project on improving higher education. The three year project focused on "Extending the Teaching, Learning and Use of Action-Research throughout the Larger Community."
In our work with students at WISR, we encourage students to draw on their own experiences, and on the experiences of others in the community, to develop ideas and strategies that can make a difference Although more conventional, statistical methods sometimes have useful functions, we have learned that qualitative, action-oriented methods often bring to light profound insights—from interviews, personal experience and observations, and everyday action— that cannot be so easily discerned from quantitative and standardized techniques of research. WISR’s approach to action-research is based on the notion that it is crucial that all people come to see themselves as builders of knowledge, individually and collectively.
Since its inception in 1975, participatory research has been an integral part of WISR. Researchers include the people who are involved in trying to make a dif-
(The Western Institute for Social Research, 3220 Sacramento St., Berkeley, CA. 94702; (510) 6552830, www.wisr.edu)
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Appendix-D
List of Post-Summit Focus Group Questions
1. How well did the Summit meet its stated goals and objectives as an "end in itself"?
7. What were the noteworthy accomplishments on Saturday in including various individuals and families in health education activities to promote healthier living? How could these health education efforts have been further improved?
2. How well (and in what ways) does the Summit seem to have solid potential to be a springboard for further efforts?
8. What insights, questions and recommendations were generated during the Summit from the stand point of the Alameda County Public Health Department Health Disparities Framework Summary?
3. What insights about the "bigger picture" of African American health disparities were generated? And what are some fruitful questions for further thought and action? 4. What specific insights (and questions) were generated about problems contributing to disparities, possible strategies and recommendations for action, directions for further investigation, important needed work, and possible local and national forums?
9. Overall, what were the main accomplishments, as well as the limitations of the Summit as an organizing catalyst or vehicle to: • Critically reflect on and discuss the status of African American health disparities? • Strengthen community capacity for reducing health disparities? • Support community organizations in understanding and addressing health disparities? • Encourage public agencies and corporate sponsors to partner with the community to address health disparities? • Provide a foundation for recommending next steps to continue to engage and support community agencies to address African American health disparities? • Formulate other kinds of strategies not previously envisioned?
5. What were the most outstanding qualities of the dialogue, critical reflection, question posing, solution posing and networking at the Summit? In what ways could the Summit have been improved in these areas? 6. What was noteworthy and successful about who participated in each of the two days of the Summit, and who wasn’t there who should have been there? (That is, with regard to the crosssection of people and leadership present.)
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Appendix-E
Acknowledgements
African American Health Summit Planning Committee Mark Anderson, Aerobic Coordinator Downtown Oakland YMCA
Lauren McDonnell Alameda County Public Health Dept. Diabetes Program
Larry Austin, Outreach/Site Coordinator YMCA Future Choices Program
Roxanne McFadden, Associate Community Relations Representative,
Yacine E. Bell, Summit Fund Development
Luretha Senyo-Mensah, Alameda Health Consortium
Francies Berry, Health & Human Education Resource Center
Eric Mitchell, Senior Community and Gov. Relations Representative,
Carmen Bogan, OakPARC California Nutrition Network
Pat Rambo, Membership Coordinator YWCA of the East Bay
Odessa Bolton, Program Manager, Blue Cross of California
Maria Rivers, Total Health/Wellness Director, Downtown Oakland YMCA
Daniela Boykin, California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program
Michael Shaw, Alameda County Office of Aids
Michael Campbell, Owner MDC Media
Maxine Tatmon-Gilkerson, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley Center for
Mildred Crear, MPH, MA RN, Director San Francisco Dept of Public Health Maternal &
Asara Tsehai, Wholistic Health Educator, A Touch of Life
Marvin Gibson, Outreach Manager, Center for Elders Independence
Rita Times, R.N., M.S.N., Bay Area Black Nurses Association
Loretta Green, CPT, International Association of Black Yoga Teachers, American
Dr. Karolyn Van Putten, Arts Medicine
Jovine Hankins, Parish Nurse, Summit Health Ministry
Darryl Ward, Director of Development, Volunteers of America, Bay Area
Shyrl Hayman, Health Ministry Coordinator, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Kenneth Wells, Healthcare Advocate, Alameda Alliance for Health
Vera Labat, Public Health Nurse, City of Berkeley Dept. of Health & Human Services
Colette Winlock, Program Officer Health Initiative, Bay Area Black United Fund
Pat Lyons, Consultant-Oakland YMCA
Ann Brekke Yungert, Prostate Cancer Coordinator, Ethnic Health Institute
Polly McCray, 1st AME Commission on Health/Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
35
The Western Institute for Social Research (WISR) Research/Evaluation Team: John Bilorusky, Ph.D., WISR President and Faculty Member
Vera Labat, M.P.H., WISR Faculty Member and Board Member
Julie Carter, M.A., WISR Ph.D. student
Shyaam Shabaka, M.P.H., WISR Ph.D. student
Barbara Cheatham, M.A., WISR Ph.D. student
Nadine Shaw-Landasvatter, WISR M.A. student
Research Associates Volunteers who participated in taking session/workshop notes as part of the evaluation process include: Blanca Campos
LaShan Jenkins
Julie Carter
Rhonda Johnson
Charemon Cooks
Nina Sperber
Devra Hutchinson
Phylliss Brown
Young Health Expo participant climbs the Rock Wall 36
A Special Thank You To A Touch of Life ♥
African American Health Summit Planning Committee ♥
Akiba Davis, Volunteer Coordinator ♥
Alameda County Public Health Department Community Services Division ♥
Bay Area Black Nurses Association ♥
Bay Area Black United Fund Staff ♥
Berkeley Public Health Department ♥
CAN-Fit ♥
Center for Elders Independence ♥
Ethnic Health Institute Prostate Cancer Screening Program ♥
IMPACT ♥
Kaiser Educational Theater Program ♥
Kaiser Permanente ♥
Lattice Banks, Logistics Coordinator ♥
Lifelong Medical Care (0ver 60 health center) ♥
Melody Powers and Associates, Publicist Services ♥
100 Black Men of the Bay Area Health and Wellness Committee ♥
San Francisco Public Health Department African American Health Initiative ♥
U.C. Cooperative Extension 5-A-Day ♥
YWCA of the East Bay
African American Health Summit Your Health Is Our Health
Major Sponsors of the African American Health Summit KAISER PERMANENTE • ANG NEWSPAPERS THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT YMCA OF THE EAST BAY Co-Sponsors ALAMEDA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT BLUE CROSS OF CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION The Bay Area Black United Fund • www.babuf.org 1212 Broadway, Suite 730, Oakland, CA. 94612 • (510) 763-7270