Sustainability of Community-based Health Promotion Coalitions: Putting Theory into Practice

Objective: Despite their rich potential, community coalitions enjoy mixed success in effecting long-term population health improvement. A need exists for strategies that augment and sustain their functional success. We undertook a study to enhance definition of the elements of coalition success and sustainability that, in turn, may foster better achievement in community-based participatory research (CBPR) and concomitant health-related outcomes. Methods: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews (N = 42) with academic researchers and their community coalition partners about the effectiveness of their collaborative endeavors. A grounded theory analysis of interview data informed the identification of domains and thematic elements influencing coalition effectiveness. Results: Seven domains emerged: (1) Characteristics related to coalition structure and processes; (2) Partner characteristics, eg, diversity, patience, flexibility, expertise; (3) Community characteristics, eg, capacity, ownership; (4) Partnership dynamics and synergy; (5) Tangible benefits; (6) Available resources, and; (7) Project characteristics. In all, 70 elements representing these domains influenced coalition effectiveness over time. Conclusions: These results extend our knowledge of factors contributing to coalition effectiveness and the sustainability of academic-community partnerships. Attention to these domains during key operational stages of CBPR initiatives is likely to have broad stakeholder benefits.