Capacity to address determinants of health among a social justice coalition in the United States.

Abstract

This study describes the Arkansas Social Justice Coalition and early pre-post changes in the capacity of participating community-based organizations to address social and structural determinants of health during the formative stage of this coalition. We utilized population-level data to understand the coalition's reach to counties experiencing health inequities. Community-based organizations (N = 29) involved in this coalition all served rural counties and counties with greater burden from COVID-19 hospitalizations, heart disease mortality, and cancer mortality. Food quality and access, economic stability, and education were identified by coalition members as the primary determinants of health impacting their communities. Coalition members completed a baseline survey, participated in coalition activities focused on addressing these primary determinants of health, and then completed a follow-up survey 3-months later. Coalition members reported significant increases in several domains of their community-based organizations' capacity to address select determinants of health across assessments. Specifically, there were significant increases in the average number of partnerships facilitated and the average number of educational sessions offered by the community-based organization that addressed economic stability, education, and food access and quality. The Arkansas Social Justice Coalition effectively created a network of 29 community-based organizations dedicated to addressing determinants of health to reduce the disproportionate burden of COVID-19, cardiovascular disease, and cancer affecting their communities. Engagement in the coalition resulted in early improvements in several capacity domains during our coalition's formative stage, which may translate to improvements in long-term outcomes related to promoting health equity at the community level.