Community-Science Dialogues

Community-Science Dialogues are forums hosted by the Health Equity Institute that bring together researchers with policy makers, local government, community organization staff and other community stakeholders to discuss cutting edge issues at the nexus of science and practice. They are designed to contribute to the effort to improve the health and well-being of communities through the exchange of ideas, debate and analysis. HEI is partnering with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to host a series of Dialogues focused on the development of Department guidelines to apply to the way SFDPH programs collect, categorize, report, and use data about "social indicators." In October 2009, the first of this series of Dialogues was held with over 40 attendees discussing the Department's proposed guidelines for collection and reporting of data categorized by race and ethnicity. In April 2011, the second Dialogue considered the SFDPH proposed guidelines related to categorization by gender.

 

March 2012 Community Science Dialogue: Peer-to-Peer Health Strategies in HOPE SF Communities

On Thursday, March 29^th, The Health Equity Institute and Jessica Wolin, HEI Associate Director of Community Practice, hosted the 3^rd Community-Science Dialogue. This year's dialogue was focused on Peer-to-Peer Health Strategies in HOPE SF Communities. The event took place from 1-4 at SFSU Downtown campus.

September Jarrett and Maria Martinez gave an overview of HOPE SF and their goals. The goal of HOPE SF is to transform 5 public housing developments into thriving mixed-income communities while involving residents at all levels. Experts from USF, UCSF, SFSU and more came together to discuss why peer-to-peer health strategies are important and the strengths, limitations and opportunities to developing the strategies in HOPE SF public housing.

Uzuri Greene, a Rebuild Potrero Jr. Community Builder, spoke about being a peer in the Potrero housing developments. She pointed out the importance of residents feeling that they can trust her and they she knows what will be easy for one resident and hard for another. She summarize it well when she said, "Peer-to-peer is helpful because it empowers other people. They now you are living the exact same way they are."

The discussion then turned to what the strengths, limitations and opportunies are. Peer-to-peer is hard but also has great benefits; everyone agreed that any community organization that chooses to go into these developments, needs to be accountable and needs to figure out how to sustain it again the social determinats that these developments are up against in SF. The community needs to feel as though they are heard and will continue to be heard.

The dialogue was a success and the take-away was that "the community itself needs to define its issues, strategies and its own measures for success"