Contributions of Community Involvement to Organizational-Level Empowerment: The Federal Healthy Start Experience

Abstract

This article presents findings of a multisite case study of the experience of nine federal Healthy Start Program sites in using consortia and other community involvement strategies in the fight against infant mortality. Using empowerment theory as a conceptual framework, qualitative data are employed to examine howcommunity involvement in the program through community-based consortia and other means contributed to empowerment at the organizational level. The article concludes with implications of the study findings for practice both within Healthy Start and in the context of other community-based health initiatives.