A Group-Based Participatory Approach to Examine Community Resilience and Trauma

BackgroundThe St Louis Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) project promoted community well-being in a designated Promise Zone over a 5-year period. The primary goals of the ReCAST project are: (1) to build a foundation to promote well-being, resiliency, and community healing through service integration; (2) to improve access to trauma-informed community behavioral health resources and youth peer support; and (3) to create community change through community and youth engagement, leadership development, improved governance, and capacity building.PurposeTo examine ReCAST stakeholder perceptions of resilience and trauma in their communities using Concept Mapping (CM), a participatory mixed methodology.ApproachCM is an integrated approach that supports the structured conceptualization of ideas and applies multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis to bring together and organize the ideas of a group to capture the perspectives of multiple stakeholders.Results33 stakeholders participated in the ReCAST program. The resilience concept map yielded five clusters: (1) Community Relationships (positive and productive), (2) Religious Organizations/Spirituality, (3) Interaction with Diverse Communities, (4) People in power to create change, and (5) Community gatherings and organizations. The trauma cluster map identified the following clusters: (1) Substandard Education, (2) Traumatic events/community violence, (3) Racial Trauma, and (4) Physical Degradation of neighborhoods.DiscussionBased on CM results, participants identified the need for local political officials to make a coordinated effort to address issues expressed in both maps and funding of local organizations to address issues related to trauma and resilience, especially youth organizations.