Sustaining Health Promotion Efforts Through Community Coalition Localization: Implications for Community-wide Interventions Utilizing Multi-sector Partnerships.

Abstract

The problem: Community coalitions provide a pathway for localization of health promotion efforts. However, sustaining and institutionalizing a community coalition requires a transition period that has not been well described in the extant literature.

Purpose: To describe how a multi-sector community-wide cancer prevention program transitioned a community coalition to independence as well as process outcomes and lessons learned from ongoing sustainability planning for two additional community coalitions.

Key points: The transition of a coalition to sustained local leadership utilizes a ten-step process adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sustainability Planning Guide including: nominating a coalition transition partner, building capacity for the transition, and creating ongoing support structures. To date, one community is successfully transitioned to localization, one is transitioning to sustainability, and one is in the implementation phase. Over 9,000 person-hours of capacity building were provided across communities and coalition members consistently agreed that collaborations and activities could be sustained.

Conclusions: Planning for sustainability through a thoughtful transition period has the potential to increase long-term viability of community coalitions.