Measuring Equity Principles for Capacity-Building of Home-Based Programs for Children Aged 5 and Under in a Public Health Initiative

BACKGROUND: To shift home-based program delivery, public health initiatives seek to increase capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) to provide such services. Yet, no study measured how a public health initiative used equity principles for capacity-building (EPCB). OBJECTIVES: Study aims were measured at 2 time points 6 months apart and explored how participants rated (1) the Initiative's use of 10 EPCB; (2) their CBO's organizational strengths and conditions; and (3) the relationships among EPCB, CBOs' organizational strengths, and CBOs' organizational conditions. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: Community-based participatory research was conducted with 20 multicultural, multilingual participants from 9 CBOs. METHODS: Equity principles were measured in May and November 2019. Demographics, CBOs' organizational strengths, and CBOs' organizational conditions were collected. Descriptive and correlational analysis was employed. RESULTS: Between May and November, 4 significant findings were observed: (1) There was a significant decrease in transformational principle use, reducing CBOs' power and leadership. (2) Racial equity principle use was significantly associated with CBOs' total organizational strengths and CBOs' clear communication. (3) Participants' confidence significantly decreased. (4) Workloads become manageable with funding. CONCLUSION: Power transfer using the transformational principle is vital. Equity principles need repeated measurement.