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Developing and Sustaining Community—Academic Partnerships: Lessons From Downstate New York Healthy Start

Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, New York, cm449{at}columbia.edu

Gail Burrus, BS

Suffolk County Perinatal Coalition in Patchogue, New York

Jean Davis, BBA

Economic Opportunity Commission of Nassau County in Hempstead, New York

Ngozi Moses, MSc

Brooklyn Perinatal Network in Brooklyn, New York

Sharon Rumley, RN, MPH

Queens Comprehensive Perinatal Council in Jamaica, New York

Dionna Walters, MPH, MPA

Downstate New York Healthy Start Project at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, New York

Partnering with communities is a critical aspect of contemporary health promotion. Linkages between universities and communities are particularly significant, given the prominence of academic institutions in channeling grants. This article describes the collaboration between a school of public health and several community-based organizations on a maternal and infant health grant project. The partnership serves as a model for ways in which a university and community organizations can interrelate and interact. Central lessons include the significance of sharing values and goals, the benefit of drawing on the different strengths of each partner, the gap created by the university's institutional focus on research rather than service and advocacy, and the strains created by power inequities and distribution of funds. A key element of the partnership's success is the emphasis on capacity building and colearning. The project demonstrates the potential of employing community—academic partnerships as a valuable mechanism for implementing community-based health promotion programs.

Key Words: community collaboration • community— academic partnership • community-capacity development

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This version was published on October 1, 2007

Health Promotion Practice, Vol. 8, No. 4, 375-383 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1524839906289557


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Merzel, C. Articles by Walters, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Merzel, C. Articles by Walters, D. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?