Whitely Community Council and Ball State University: Partnership for Improved Health Outcomes

Overview: This initiative sheds light on the community of Whitely, a historically African American sector of Muncie, Indiana by utilizing a community-engaged approach to gain greater understanding of the needs, strengths, and health priorities impacting residents. The partnership includes Whitely community residents, Whitely Community Council members, and BSU faculty and students.Proposal text: Families in East Central Indiana have among the worst health outcomes in the U.S. Delaware county ranks (85th) well below the majority of Indiana counties in health outcomes (County Health Rankings, 2021). East Central Indiana faces many challenges related to social determinants of health (SDH), including limited access to health care, income insecurity, underemployment, food insecurity, inadequate housing, fragmented transportation, and structural inequities driven by systemic racism. African Americans are more likely to be affected by hypertension, diabetes, and strokes yet often have less access to medical care and treatment and experience increased levels of poverty, unemployment, and decreased homeownership (CDC, 2017). Whitely residents have seen a steady stream of disinvestment in their community, resulting in the area becoming a food desert with access to just one gas station and a dollar store to purchase food. The Whitely neighborhood has a 95% free and reduced lunch rate for local students and a household median income of $17,159. Racial inequities among health and health outcomes also create greater challenges for community members. This initiative explores additional SDH impacting the community of Whitely, a historically African American sector of Muncie, by utilizing a community-engaged approach to gain greater understanding of the needs, strengths, and health priorities impacting the health outcomes of residents. The initiative gathered voices from the Whitely community, including residents and Whitely Community Council members, and BSU faculty and students, with a common goal to improve local health outcomes. We recognize that it takes time to build trust and develop relationships; a strong partnership between Whitely and BSU was the first step. By working alongside members of the Whitely neighborhood, the voices of a broad range of stakeholders with a vested interest in improving the community health outcomes are heard and respected. Monthly meetings between the WCC, community liaisons (Whitely residents), and BSU affiliates aided in the development of trust between group members and led to collaborative planning and project goal setting. The aims for this collaborative initiative were to 1) build a partnership between Whitely and BSU and 2) assess community-identified needs to assist in building and sustaining the Whitely Community Health and Wellness Committee. Speaking with Whitely residents and community members supported greater understanding and awareness of the current available resources as well as identifying the challenges to accessing resources. Partnership between Whitely and BSU supported formal identification of needs and strengths assessment and helped to plan for future action, support, and change. This approach provides a basis for training the next generation of researchers to listen and respect all members of society before assuming they know the solution to a problem. The long-term goal of the initiative is to build and sustain a community-academic partnership to address specific health promotion and outcomes within the Whitely Community. This partnership also supports continued evidenced-based research, programming, and long-term solution building plans to continue to address health outcomes and inequities.