Subaltern perspectives of developing communication campaigns: Re-examining the culture-centered approach in addressing health disparities

Abstract

ABSTRACT A central component of the culture-centered approach is the co-development of communication infrastructures for health and wellbeing within subaltern communities. However, there is an absence in the representation of these infrastructures in esteemed journals. This is problematic for illuminating the tensions and complexities in bringing theory into practice from the perspective of community members. This study draws from two culture-centered projects to explore how communities make sense of the process of participating in building interventions, comprising 119 initial in-depth interviews with residents, 10 community advisory board focus groups, and 21 evaluative interviews. The residents’ narratives reveal a relationship between subalternity and distrust toward interventions delivered by providers outside of their community, emphasizing the need to create spaces of listening that anchor community relationships. The formation of relationships was crucial to the development of communication infrastructures, which continued beyond the study. The contributions to intercultural and international communication are discussed.