Content area
Full Text
Objective: To identify factors associated with successful neighborhood mobilization to prevent teen pregnancy using a positive youth development approach. Methods: A multiple case study was conducted on 5 neighborhood partnerships using in-person interviews with key informants, observation of meetings, and review of existing documents. Results: Competent staff, strong sense of community, support of key organizations, shared leadership, effective group process, and
a perceived need for the initiative influenced level of mobilization. Conclusion: Organizing neighborhoods around teen pregnancy prevention, even using a youth development approach, is challenging but can be accomplished when the right constellation of factors is in place.
Key words: neighborhoods, youth development, community partnerships, coalitions, teen pregnancy prevention, qualitative methods
Am J Health Behav 2003;27(2):156-169
Community partnerships are ubiquitous in current community-based health promotion initiatives. Coalitions, the most dominant form of community partnership, have been formed to address a wide range of diseases, healthrelated risk factors, and social problems over the past decade.1-5 Much of the research on community-based coalitions in the 1990s focused on coalition functioning (decision making, communication, cohesiveness, task focus, leadership).6-8
Findings were largely consistent across studies, demonstrating that various dimensions of coalition functioning were related to intermediate indicators of effectiveness such as participation, satisfaction, commitment, action-plan quality, and implementation.9-15
In an effort to integrate the findings from research with lessons learned from practice, Butterfoss and Kegler generated a list of "practice-proven" propositions and synthesized them into a theoretical framework (community coalition action theory) to deepen our understanding of how coalitions create change in communities.16 Briefly, the community coalition action theory posits that coalitions evolve through a series of stages and that the community context influences coalitions in each stage. Characteristics of the convening organization and the initial core group influence who joins the coalition. Coalitions, through leadership and staff, develop processes and structure. When communication is open and frequent, when decision making is shared and formalized, and when conflict management is effective, coalitions are better able to create positive organizational climates and offer members benefits that exceed costs. These, along with formalized structures, lead to increased member engagement, greater pooling of resources, and, the theory posits, improved assessment and planning. Comprehensive assessment and planning are more likely to lead to interventions directed at multiple levels that create...