A 2019 awarded grant under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Understanding and Supporting Anchor Businesses program, managed by AcademyHealth.
This project is funded as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Understanding and Supporting Anchor Businesses to Build a Culture of Health” program, which seeks to understand the ways that for-profit anchors advance health and well-being in the communities where they are located. The goal of this project is two-fold: 1) to characterize the motivators and barriers experienced by for-profit oil and gas companies when making investments to improve the social determinants of health in the their communities; and 2) to characterize the perceptions and experiences of community members and organizations regarding motivations of for-profit oil and gas companies that invest in the social determinates of health in their communities and the perceived value those investments have for the communities. To achieve this goal researchers will use a mixed-methods approach, including conducting key informant interviews with community stakeholders and with member organizations from the Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP), a business coalition addressing the social determinants of health in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. Additionally, population-based community surveys will be conducted in regions where for-profit oil and gas companies are located.
This study will help identify the opportunities and challenges faced by the for-profit energy sector when investing to improve the social determinants of health in rural areas. This study is the first of its kind to take a methodological approach at elucidating factors that motivate for-profit oil and gas companies to invest in the health of communities. Results from this investigation will provide meaningful insight for policymakers and business stakeholders for development of strategies that support for-profit oil and gas companies when investing to increase health equity within communities. Project deliverables include dissemination of key findings through written reports, peer-reviewed publications, and an issue brief for business audiences.
Chris Calitz, M.P.P., is Director of the Center for Workplace Health and also serves as the science advisor to... Read Bio
Grantee Institution: American Heart Association
Grant Number: 76910
Grant Period: 10/01/2019-3/31/2021
Grant Budget: $224,935