Community Engagement Evaluation Project

This project is funded to test the efficacy of the CEI.

Community Engagement Initiative:

A Process for Improved Community Accessibility

The Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) is a community-level intervention that explores the social and behavioral determinants of health. Specifically, this intervention is interested in understanding the lived experiences of people with disabilities and how these experiences influence healthful behavior. A desired outcome of CEI is the empowerment of community members to identify common problems, develop solutions, and engage other community stakeholders in the removal of barriers to healthful behavior.

Persons from the targeted community participate in open, town-hall meetings by sharing personal experiences accessing specific community resources. Using focus group content analysis (Yin, 1989), salient points from the shared experiences of the group are presented during a follow-up meeting with community leaders with local elected officials, community officials such as city managers and planners, and service providers, business owners, and other community stakeholders. At the conclusion of the community leader meeting, discrete issues are identified along with meeting participants who agree to work together to address the issues.

Lisa Voltolina
707 SW Gaines Street
Portland, OR 97239
(voice) 503.494.3331
7.1.1 Relay Service
(fax) 503.494.6868
voltolin@ohsu.edu