Strengthening Community-Based Communication Channels: A Sustainable Health Messaging Approach

Objective: Health communication efforts often focus on message content while neglecting channel and source factors crucial for community engagement and sustainable health promotion. Design: Evaluate a community-based communication strategy developed for place-based cancer prevention initiative in a historic neighborhood. Setting: Acres Homes, a historically Black neighborhood in Houston, Texas. Participants: Community leaders and residents of Acres Homes working in partnership with academic researchers and health communication specialists. Intervention: The Acres Homes Cancer Prevention Collaboration is a research initiative which seeks to test strategies for improving health behavior in the context of place-based interventions and foster stronger collaborations between communities and researchers. The initiative implements a comprehensive communication strategy. Method: Evaluate the communication strategy of the Acres Homes Cancer Prevention Collaboration using website analytics, community engagement metrics, material distribution records, focus groups, and Community Advisory Board feedback. Results: Analysis showed 50% increase in unique website visitors, 60% increase in page views, reduced bounce rate (67%–53%), and increased time on site (3:59–7:32 minutes). Community advisors distributed 21 212 materials and recorded more than 21 000 resident contacts across 228 community events. Thematic analysis of focus groups showed residents value source credibility, channel integration, cultural relevance, and transparency in health communication. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that strategic investment in community-based communication channels yields measurable improvements in message exposure and engagement.