Examining Neighborhood Social Cohesion in the Context of Community-based Participatory Research: Descriptive Findings from an Academic-Community Partnership

Abstract

<p class="Pa7"> <strong>Objective: </strong>The purpose of this article is to describe the process of conducting an assessment of neighborhood perceptions and cohesion by a community coalition-academic team created in the context of community-based participatory research (CBPR), to guide the design of locally rel­evant health initiatives.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Methods: </strong>Guided by CBPR principles, a collaborative partnership was established between an academic center and a lo­cal, urban, underserved neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama to identify and address community concerns and priorities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in September 2016 among community residents (N=90) to examine perceptions of neighborhood characteristics, including so­cial cohesion and neighborhood problems.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Results: </strong>The major concerns voiced by the coalition were violence and lack of neigh­borhood cohesion and safety. The com­munity survey verified the concerns of the coalition, with the majority of participants mentioning increasing safety and stopping the violence as the things to change about the community and the greatest hope for the community. Furthermore, results indicated residents had a moderate level of perceived social cohesion (mean = 2.87 [.67]).</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The Mid-South TCC Aca­demic and Community Engagement (ACE) Core successfully partnered with community members and stakeholders to establish a coalition whose concerns and vision for the community matched the concerns of residents of the community. Collecting data from different groups strengthened the interpretation of the findings and allowed for a rich understanding of neighborhood concerns. <em></em></p><p class="Pa7"><em>Ethn Dis.</em> 2017;27(Suppl 1):329-336; doi:10.18865/ed.27.S1.329.</p><br /><p> </p>

A randomised controlled trial of the Nextdoor Kind Challenge: a study protocol

“…Neighbourhood perception of change [38] This question used by a previous study by Bateman and colleagues [38], asks if participants thought their neighbourhood was improving from 1 (improving), 2 (stable) or 3 (declining).…”

“…Neighbourhood importance [38] This question used by a previous study by Bateman and colleagues [38], asks how important participants thought it was to know their neighbours from 1 (very important) to 5 (very important).…”

Geospatial analysis of neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) for the United States by county

“…Recent research has also highlighted the impact of community and research partnerships. The Academic Community Engagement Core of the Mid-South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center for Health Disparities Research partnered with a disadvantaged community in Birmingham, Alabama to engage in coalition building and a community survey (Bateman et al, 2017). By engaging the community, the research team was able to establish a community coalition to better address the needs of their community.…”

Neighborhood environment perceptions associate with depression levels and cardiovascular risk among middle-aged and older adults: Data from the Washington, DC cardiovascular health and needs assessment

“…The collaboration yielded a “Get to Know Your Neighbor Day” which served to promote community cohesion through hosting both adults and children for a day of activities and relationship building. Respondents indicated that perceiving that the neighborhood was improving and consistent interactions with their neighbors fostered a higher level of social cohesion ( Bateman et al, 2017 ). These types of interventions can be considered and evaluated in other urban communities, including the target areas of the Washington DC CV Health and Needs Assessment.…”