A multi-sector assessment of community organizational capacity for promotion of Chinese immigrant worker health.

BACKGROUND: Community-based collaborative approaches have received increased attention as a means for addressing occupational health disparities. Organizational capacity, highly relevant to engaging and sustaining community partnerships, however, is rarely considered in occupational health research.

METHODS: To characterize community organizational capacity specifically relevant to Chinese immigrant worker health, we used a cross-sectional, descriptive design with 36 agencies from six community sectors in King County, Washington. Joint interviews, conducted with two representatives from each agency, addressed three dimensions of organizational capacity: organizational commitment, resources, and flexibility. Descriptive statistics were used to capture the patterning of these dimensions by community sector.

RESULTS: Organizational capacity varied widely across and within sectors. Chinese and Pan-Asian service sectors indicated higher capacity for Chinese immigrant worker health than did Chinese faith-based, labor union, public, and Pan-ethnic nonprofit sectors.

CONCLUSIONS: Variation in organizational capacity in community sectors can inform selection of collaborators for community-based, immigrant worker health interventions.