SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY (CA) Profile
Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, and Tulare Counties (CA)
Team Profile Summary
It is evident that health and quality of life are linked to where people live. Broad inequities are associated with accumulated challenges in poverty, housing and transportation, air quality, and access to jobs, schools, and recreation. The San Joaquin Valley (SJV) Place Matters project is a collaborative effort between the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at California State University Fresno, six of the SJV counties health department directors and/or their designees and key leaders in air and water quality, healthy food access, physical activity environments, access to health care and affordable housing and development. Together, this collaboration presses to develop a sound regional agenda to improve health inequities.
Team Profile Details
Problem Statement
- Residents of rural areas made up just 21% of the U.S. population in 2004, 58% of all traffic fatalities were the result of accidents in rural areas.
- Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately killed in MVAs, compared with non-Latino whites.
- Latinos, for whom MVAs are the fifth leading cause of death for all age groups.
- San Joaquin Valley MVAs occur at a higher rate in rural areas, and Latinos account for almost half of the region’s fatalities.
Team Objectives
Actions planned for the team fall into three categories:
- The team plans to conduct qualitative research on the social determinants of rural MVAs in the SJV in two rural local communities. This research will be done in two counties and will include community forums, focus groups, interviews, and a Photo Voice project.
- A pilot project in these communities will be used to develop an efficient model for raising awareness, training, and empowering rural communities to become not only safer drivers, but advocates for health equity as well. The pilot project will include an evaluation component (both of dissemination efforts and of project activities) and will utilize a regional task force and community advocacy groups made up of individuals from community-based organizations and community residents.
- Implementing the results of the networking, evaluation, and research done in the pilot project in each of the eight valley counties, using pilot project participants to train residents of other rural communities.
For more information and to become involved, please contact:
Team Lead: Dr. Marlene Bengiamin
Email: marleneb@csufresno.edu
Phone: 559-228-2167
