Utilizing a community capitals framework to assess a public health intervention: Application of the CD+SI toolkit

ABSTRACT

This paper represents an effort to apply a mixed-method design and instrument, the Community Diagnostics and Social Impact (CD+SI) Toolkit, to the evaluation of one rural community within a federally-funded public health project, Healthier Together Lambert (HTL). The CD+SI is an operationalization of the Community Capitals Framework which helps practitioners capture stocks of various capitals within a community throughout the development of a project. The current study examined the capitals present in the community and how the public health project impacted extant capitals within the community. The CD+SI Toolkit allowed researchers to determine the extent to which the HTL project impacted extant community capitals. Participants rated social capital the highest, followed by political, built-financial, natural, cultural, and human capitals. Conceptual and methodological implications for practice are discussed, specifically the inclusion of mixed methods to capture the uniqueness and context of rural spaces for community development practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Community development
• public health
• community capitals
• mixed methods

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Centers for Disease Control High Obesity Program, Award number [Redacted number].

Notes on contributors

Catherine E. Sanders

Catherine Sanders is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at NC State University. She completed the current research during her doctoral program in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia.

Nekeisha L. Randall

Nekeisha Randall is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy in the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia.

Alexa J. Lamm

Alexa Lamm is a Professor of science communication in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia.

Kevan W. Lamm

Kevan Lamm is an Associate Professor of agricultural leadership in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia.