Building healthcare-community partnerships - process evaluation of a coalition approach to addressing cancer survivors’ health-related social needs

Oct 3, 2026

Healthcare-community partnerships are often used to deliver support to patients through coalition work, yet measuring their impact and partner satisfaction is difficult without an appropriate theory. This study evaluates the BEAT-C coalition using Community Coalition Action Theory (CCAT), created to strengthen non-medical support for people affected by cancer. It reports coalition implementation facilitators and barriers based on a modified Coalition Self-Assessment Survey and qualitative feedback, guiding future theory-driven collaboration efforts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

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Background

Wyand etal. BMC Health Services Research (2025) 25:763 BMC Health Services Research [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12883-7](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12883-7) RESEARCH Open Access Building healthcare-community partnerships: process evaluation of a coalition approach to addressing cancer survivors’ health-related social needs Shelby Wyand 1*†, Laura C. Schubel2,3†, Mandi L. Pratt-Chapman4, Marjanna Smith2, Jessica Rivera Rivera2, Karey M. Sutton 1, Judith Lee Smith5, Susan A. Sabatino5, Elizabeth A. Rohan5 and Hannah Arem2,6 Abstract Background Coalitions involving both healthcare organizations and community organizations, are a way of providing community support to patients. However, the impact of these collaborations and partner satisfaction can be hard to measure without the use of a theoretical framework to guide progress. Methods In January 2023 we established the BEAT-C coalition, guided by the Community Coalition Action Theory (CCAT), to improve clinical-community linkages for addressing non-medical needs among individuals affected by cancer in the Washington, D. C. region. To create broad representation, we invited organizations focused on faith, older adults, cancer support, health promotion, healthy food access, and community health to join. The coalition dedicated significant effort at the outset to establish trust, cultivate relationships, and define shared values, mission, goals, and objectives. To assess coalition functioning, we administered a modified version of the Coalition Self-Assessment Survey (CSAS) in December 2023. Results Sixteen individuals representing 10 organizations completed the adapted CSAS. Respondents generally responded positively regarding the coalition and made decisions primarily through discussion and agreement (75 . 0%) . Respondents noted respect for leadership (81 . 3%) and respect for and from fellow coalition members (100 . 0%) . While 56. 3% reported meaningful action through the coalition, 31. 3% thought there could be more meaningful action. Qualitative feedback mirrored these findings: participants positively regarded the coalition’s responsiveness and noted activities occurring through partnerships developed from the coalition, but some respondents emphasized a desire to act more swiftly. Conclusion Our research described facilitators and barriers to early implementation of a theory-driven collaborative coalition to enhance cancer survivor support. Through the continued efforts of the coalition and increased †Shelby Wyand and Laura C. Schubel are co-first authors. *Correspondence: Shelby Wyand [shelby.a.wyand@medstar.net](shelby.a.wyand@medstar.net) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creati](http://creati)[vecommons.org/l](vecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Wyand et al. BMC Health Services Research (2025) 25:763 Page 2 of 13 community capacity building, the multi-disciplinary efforts of the coalition have pote

FAQs

What was the BEAT-C coalition designed to improve?

BEAT-C was established to improve clinical-community linkages to address non-medical needs among individuals affected by cancer in the Washington, D.C. region.

How was coalition functioning assessed?

Coalition functioning was assessed using a modified Coalition Self-Assessment Survey (CSAS) administered in December 2023.

What facilitators and barriers were identified for early implementation?

The findings described facilitators and barriers to early implementation of a theory-driven collaborative coalition, supported by survey results and qualitative feedback about responsiveness and desired speed of action.

Oct 3, 2026

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