The Cepa Project: A New Model for Community-Based Program Planning

Abstract

The article describes a new model of community-based program planning developed by the Centro de Educacion, Prevencion y Accion (CEPA) project, an HIV prevention program for Puerto Ricans located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Based on models of critical thinking, empowerment and participatory education, the basic philosophy of the CEPA project is to narrow the gap between program developers and program recipients to the greatest extent possible. The article discusses the successes and challenges encountered in approaching this ideal. The article concludes with recommendations for public health professionals considering the use of community-based approaches to address public health issues.

Practitioners' Perspectives on Effective Practices For Hispanic Teenage Pregnancy Prevention

“…Other researchers have argued that interventions need to move from being "expert-led" to being "community-led." 35 Our study is grounded in conversations with pregnancy prevention practitioners, who are typically positioned somewhere between the community and the role of the expert. Their professional lives consist of their translating expert knowledge into practice within a community.…”

Cultural Landscapes and Cultural Brokers of Sexual and Reproductive Health in U.S. Latino and Latin American Populations

“…The significance of the family in U.S. Latino communities is noticeable in the names, orientation, and objectives of the projects described in this book. Buchanan and his coauthors [28], in their article on a model for community-based program planning in Holyoke, Massachusetts, describe the decision of program participants to select a name resembling the Puerto Rican family tree of "cepa" (mother) and her "cepitas" (daughters) to give symbolic meaning to their HIV prevention work in the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts. Two other examples of successful models of community interventions built on the interception of culture, health, and social systems, El Centro Familiar and Padres and Madres, are presented by Cardoza-Clayton and coauthors [28].…”

The Holyoke Community Health Planning Commission: A Model of Academic-Practice-Community Collaboration in Massachusetts

“…CEPA uses a participatory community empowerment model based on the work of Paolo Freire. 1 Nine years later, CEPA has grown and continues its work today.…”