The Educative Role of Sport for Socially Disengaged Young Black Men in London

Young Black men in urban environments are at risk of marginalisation and social alienation from mainstream society; they are statistically more likely to have been excluded from school, to be involved in crime and be living in poverty (Cook & Hudson, 1993; Noguera, 2003; Regan & Hoeksma, 2010). Research suggests that in the chaotic swirl of poor housing conditions, family breakdown and exposure to substance abuse, mainstream education is failing to reach this demographic sufficiently, contributing to a situation where gun and knife crime homicides are significantly higher amongst this particular group (Cosn, 2001; Home Affairs Committee, 2007; Scott, 2007). The central objective of this study was to investigate the experiences of both youth and educators who actively engage in sports programmes to see if sport could be used as an alternative mode of inclusion for socially disengaged young Black men. This study focused on three sport-based intervention programmes, and attempted to develop a theoretically informed understanding of how and why disengagement occurs amongst young Black men, alongside analysing the mechanisms that enable sport-based intervention programmes to achieve success. A purposive sampling approach was used to identify appropriate organisations and suitable participants in London. A mixed methods technique was adopted and incorporated a combination of questionnaires (n=17); semi-structured interviews (n=12) and focus group discussions (n=5 per group, 3 groups). Six major themes emerged from the focus group discussions and interviews: (a) practical life issues; (b) educational concerns; (c) social bonding; (d) personal development; (e) attitudinal change, and (f) role of sport. Quantitative analysis from the questionnaire found that when asked about particular initiatives for youth, 96% of educators and leaders, which consisted of sports coaches, sport volunteers, youth mentors and programme directors, wanted to see more educational programmes that focused on changing prejudice and discrimination within the community. Questionnaire results also highlighted a reduction in deviant behaviour patterns during and post programme involvement, with educators and leaders indicating that narcotic drug usage amongst participants was down 39%. Overall, this study suggests that sport can be used to reduce labelling, empower at-risk and disengaged youth, improve social skills and create new, positive leadership opportunities and constructive group identity pathways. The present study also contributes to future sport-based intervention research and practices. It highlights that sports programmes do have the potential to provide an alternative means of education for socially disengaged young Black men in London. More specifically, the findings from this study provide preliminary research into the use of sport programmes in reducing anti-social behaviour patterns within programme contexts by explaining when and how sport can be utilised as a valuable, powerful vehicle for the prevention of crime and delinquency

Integrating Social Justice for Health Professional Education: Self-reflection, Advocacy, and Collaborative Learning

Justice as fair and equal treatment for all is one of the core visions for health professional education to reduce racial and economic health disparities in bioethics, nursing and medicine. However, the current reality of deeply entrenched structural inequities across race, class, gender, and social privilege make it a challenge for students to become aware of practical health equity solutions. This paper illustrates how faculty and students can build their understanding of health equity solutions in health professional education through self-reflection, self-direction, advocacy, and collaborative learning opportunities. We provide lessons learned and teaching resources from nursing, medicine, and law

Community Health Improvement and the Community Psychology Competencies

Community health improvement initiatives are strongly influenced by the local context in which they take place. Community coalitions of diverse stakeholders are expected to determine the needs of their population of interest, select an appropriate strategy, implement with quality, and evaluate for effectiveness. Many public health initiatives look toward behavioral scientists with experience in collaborating with community members. The competencies that community psychologists possess make them particularly useful contributors in these initiatives, especially when the projects explicitly focus on increasing health equity. This paper describes how community psychologists can contribute to community health improvement work by sharing our experiences in the Spreading Community Accelerators through Learning and Evaluation (SCALE) initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. As part of SCALE, community coalitions are expected to develop appropriate aims and corresponding driver diagrams as well as implement quality improvement projects to help reach those aims. We demonstrate how community psychologists operationalize SCALE by working with communities of color in three distinct settings with different contextual factors: the Proviso Partners for Health (Chicago, IL), Boston Medical Center’s Vital Village Network (Boston, MA), and the San Gabriel Valley Healthy Cities Collaborative (Los Angeles, CA). We also describe how community psychologists contribute to the formative evaluation of the entire SCALE project. We note that specific community psychology competencies are applicable across diverse settings in community health improvement work. Consequently, community psychologists can contribute significantly to improving community health and advancing health equity

Community Health Improvement and the Community Psychology Competencies

Community health improvement initiatives are strongly influenced by the local context in which they take place. Community coalitions of diverse stakeholders are expected to determine the needs of their population of interest, select an appropriate strategy, implement with quality, and evaluate for effectiveness. Many public health initiatives look toward behavioral scientists with experience in collaborating with community members. The competencies that community psychologists possess make them particularly useful contributors in these initiatives, especially when the projects explicitly focus on increasing health equity. This paper describes how community psychologists can contribute to community health improvement work by sharing our experiences in the Spreading Community Accelerators through Learning and Evaluation (SCALE) initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. As part of SCALE, community coalitions are expected to develop appropriate aims and corresponding driver diagrams as well as implement quality improvement projects to help reach those aims. We demonstrate how community psychologists operationalize SCALE by working with communities of color in three distinct settings with different contextual factors: the Proviso Partners for Health (Chicago, IL), Boston Medical Center’s Vital Village Network (Boston, MA), and the San Gabriel Valley Healthy Cities Collaborative (Los Angeles, CA). We also describe how community psychologists contribute to the formative evaluation of the entire SCALE project. We note that specific community psychology competencies are applicable across diverse settings in community health improvement work. Consequently, community psychologists can contribute significantly to improving community health and advancing health equity

Love and Power: A Community Power Building Case

Dr. Hatchett\u27s bio: Dr. Lena Hatchett is a Senior Fellow with We in the World, a diverse team of change agents who are passionate about igniting transformation for well-being and equity in the world. She brings the voice of people with lived experience of inequity to the design process of the Racial Justice Community 2021. Dr. Springfield’s bio: As a nutritionist, Springfield’s research interests focus on the social, behavioral, and structural determinants of dietary behaviors in African American women and developing community-based interventions to promote health equity. Her most recent work examines relationships between psychological resilience, diet quality, and cardiovascular disease-related outcomes. Abstract: Proviso Partners for Health (PP4H) is a community-led coalition to advance action of racial and economic equity in the food system. Over the last six years, PP4H received funding from multi-sector organizations, including Trinity Health System and Robert Wood Johnson, to implement policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change initiatives. The long-term sustainability of these efforts beyond the funding period is vital and requires an in-depth inquiry into the effectiveness of community power building strategies. Pastor, Ito, and Wander, 2020, define community power building as the ability of communities most impacted by structural inequity to develop, sustain and grow an organized base of people who act together through democratic structures to set agendas, shift public discourse, influence decision-makers, and cultivate ongoing relationships of mutual accountability with them to change systems and advance health equity. Multi-sector partners collaboratively designed and conducted a practice-based, action-driven evaluation to answer two questions: 1) What factors facilitate the sustainability of a food justice movement? 2) How can community residents sustain efforts? We used a case study approach that included semi-structured interviews, documentary data and field notes, observations, and quantitative data. Results found five community power building strategies to catalyzing PSE change in the food system 1) transparency and accountability, 2) shared leadership and power, 3) community voice, 4) leveraged assets, and 5) community love. Conclusion revealed that power-building with people with lived experience of inequity to leverage their individual and collective assets advanced action in the food system. In doing so, PP4H has aligned its work with a more health-equity-oriented vision

Integrating Social Justice for Health Professional Education: Self-reflection, Advocacy, and Collaborative Learning

Justice as fair and equal treatment for all is one of the core visions for health professional education to reduce racial and economic health disparities in bioethics, nursing and medicine. However, the current reality of deeply entrenched structural inequities across race, class, gender, and social privilege make it a challenge for students to become aware of practical health equity solutions. This paper illustrates how faculty and students can build their understanding of health equity solutions in health professional education through self-reflection, self-direction, advocacy, and collaborative learning opportunities. We provide lessons learned and teaching resources from nursing, medicine, and law

Participants’ Experiences With a Community Based Participatory Research Produce Prescription Program: Findings From a Qualitative Study

Supplemental Material for Participants’ Experiences With a CBPR Produce Prescription Program: Findings From a Qualitative Study by Courtney Kimi Suh, Abigail Huliganga, Jeriann Collymore, Naomi Desai, Mary Mora, and Lena Hatchett Ballard in American Journal of Health Promotion</p

Six phases for building sustainable impact through policy, systems, and environmental change

This second installment in the Action Learning Brief series provides practical guidance on defining and applying the six phases of policy, systems, and environmental change that can help organizations and their technical assistance providers expand their efforts and build sustainable impact. Policy, systems, and environmental changes influence laws, shape physical landscapes, and help to improve institutions to make healthy living easier and to tackle the root causes of health inequities

Suburban Cook County COVID-19 Community Supports Program

The Suburban Cook County COVID-19 Community Supports Program (CSP), coordinated by the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) in partnership with Hektoen Research Institute, was a community-based program to support COVID-19 prevention and response from December 2020 to October 2021. CSP leveraged the strengths and resources of partner community-based organizations to promote health, racial and economic equity throughout suburban Cook County. As part of the program, community partners met regularly to share best practices, learn with and from one another, and deepen partnerships across the region.</p

What are action steps and resources to help your organization apply the six phases of policy, systems, and environmental change?

This fifth installment in the Action Learning Brief series provides simple action steps and resources to help organizations and technical assistance providers learn how to adopt policy, systems, and environmental change during each phase of the policy, systems, and environmental change process. Policy, systems, and environmental changes influence laws, shape physical landscapes, and help to improve institutions to make healthy living easier and to tackle the root causes of health inequities