Congratulations to our Oakland Benioff Community Innovators who have completed their community assessment focused on the connections between financial support during pregnancy and preterm birth!
Income inequality is a key contributor to the racial disparities in preterm birth and worse birth outcomes. Why? Because an inability to afford basic needs — housing, food, etc. — results in higher levels of stress and worse health outcomes.
The Benioff Community Innovation Program (BCIp) engages capacity building through community-based participatory action research with BIPOC communities in PTBi geographies of focus. BCIp seeks to educate and cultivate community scientists with an emphasis on economic workforce development. It provides participants with an opportunity to co-create knowledge, build skills, and access resources, tools and support that generates career pathways into the fields of public health policy, advocacy and research. The work of BCIp is guided by a set of principles grounded in research justice and praxis - reflect, learn and act.
We believe that only with the voices, wisdom and leadership of community will social justice be achieved, and preterm birth successfully addressed. BCIp is a three-tiered model beginning with a community assessment of preterm birth; development of policy and practice recommendations; and concluding with dissemination and implementation of a policy campaign.
We are thankful to our academic partner Mills College for providing data collection support and training as well as assisting with the analysis of findings and final report. The innovators are looking forward to hosting a virtual report back of the assessment process and findings this Fall.
