Partnership Attributes Checklist: Strengths and Weaknesses of Rural Diabetes Coalitions

Objective:The purpose of this presentation is to describe the strengths and weaknesses of rural diabetes coalitions that were identified through a partnership evaluation tool 

Methods:The target audience was 37 rural Appalachian diabetes coalitions that are a part of the Appalachian Diabetes Translation and Control Program, a partnership of the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Centers for Disease Control and Marshall University.  This project facilitates the development of diabetes coalitions in rural, low-income counties in the region.   In mid-2009  the coalitions completed a self-assessment using the Partnership Attributes Checklist (developed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Diabetes Initiative).  The purpose was to evaluate their coalition’s function and structure.  The self-assessment was conducted as part of a planning workshop where coalition leaders developed plans for strengthening their coalitions.  In this session the authors will discuss the findings and describe some of the steps coalition leaders took strengthen their coalitions.

Results:Overall, the coalitions were satisfied with the leadership and management, synergy, collaboration and resources associated with their partnership. Areas they identified for improvement included clearly defined methods for communication, orienting new members and leadership infrastructure.

Conclusion:The Partnership Attributes Checklist was a simple, yet effective tool to evaluate the coalitions’ strengths and weaknesses.  Once weaknesses were identified, coalitions were able to develop a new work plan and move towards improvement.