Building community partnerships for diabetes primary prevention: lessons learned

Abstract

Purpose

To describe the process of building partnerships between a health professional group (university‐based researchers and organizations from within and outside the health sector) and the black communities, highlight the accomplishments and identify problems in the process.

Design/methodology/approach

The description of the process of building partnerships with four black communities in Nova Scotia is organized in the following sections: the impetus for launching a Diabetes Primary Prevention for the Black Communities Project, its preparation, implementation, and evaluation. The accomplishments and the problems associated with the Project are analysed.

Findings

Recruitment of participants for the focus groups was challenging. Response rate to survey questionnaire was moderate. Presentation of the Project results by one of the black Project assistants to the participant communities was well received. The Project was quite successful in encouraging community involvement by engaging community groups in several small‐scale activities. Three issues related to project implementation were identified: recruitment of focus groups, participant disappointment, and survey return rates. Strategies incorporating the principles of involving a target audience, providing a service, empowering people and respecting cultural diversity with the aim to ensure successful partnership building with the black communities were proposed.

Originality/value

This paper describes the process of forging partnership with the black communities. The results of the Project could serve as a paradigm for developing culturally sensitive and responsive strategies to lessen the burden of type 2 diabetes in other racial minority communities.

Citation

Wong, J., Wong, S., Weerasinghe, S., Makrides, L. and Coward‐Ince, T. (2005), "Building community partnerships for diabetes primary prevention: lessons learned", Clinical Governance: An International Journal, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 6-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777270510579242