Mobilizing Families and Communities for Better Health Outcomes in Georgia
The Georgia CEAL Regional Team (GA CEAL) is leading a comprehensive, community-centered response to address type 2 diabetes and mental health. Through a multilevel intervention grounded in community-based participatory research, the team is combining family-focused diabetes prevention, mental health support, and policy advocacy to create sustainable improvements in health and well-being. In this interview, Tabia Henry Akintobi, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor and chair of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine and GA CEAL principal investigator, shares insights into the research approach, the outcomes being tracked, and the values that guide this work.
How is GA CEAL addressing social determinants of health through this research?
GA CEAL is approaching social determinants of health through a multilevel intervention strategy. At the individual and interpersonal levels, the focus is on reducing type 2 diabetes risk among kids and adults in the communities most impacted. Mental health support is also a key component, delivered through Mental Health First Aid training that works at the interpersonal, organizational, and community levels. The initiative also aims to improve the social determinants of health in diabetes and other health concerns at the community level through policy and advocacy training, capacity building, and community mobilization.
The research priorities were shaped by guidance from the Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center’s Community Coalition Board, insights from a 2022 community health needs and asset assessment conducted with residents across rural and urban Georgia counties, and ongoing input from the GA CEAL Community Coalition Board.
How is the team measuring success?
We’re monitoring a range of multilevel metrics. At the individual level, the team is tracking changes in knowledge, behavioral skills, and habits among parents and children. We are also assessing signs of physical health, such as weight reduction and other indicators of heart and metabolic health.
At the community level, the team is measuring progress in health policy and advocacy, as well as growth in mental and behavioral health advocacy, capacity, and adoption.
What strategies have been most effective in mobilizing families and communities to act on diabetes prevention and mental health support?
Engaging with state and local health departments and community-based organizations has been key. These groups bring trusted relationships and existing resources that are essential for standing up, implementing, and sustaining the intervention. They will also be our bridge to priority families and communities.
What are the benefits of community-based participatory research for this project?
This approach ensures community buy-in, sustainability, leadership, and advocacy for the program. It’s built on community governance and co-creation across all phases, including planning, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination. Community members review and approve all data collection tools and implementation strategies, and they collaborate on marketing efforts. This research is designed to make a difference by learning what works, for whom, and in what context through strong community partnerships.
How has community feedback been used to shape this research?
Community feedback is ongoing, recurring, and intentional. Our Community Coalition Board meets monthly, and board chairs also hold monthly meetings. Two dedicated community subcommittees — one for data and evaluation and one for marketing and communication — help ensure close oversight of data and how the research is shared. Additionally, focus groups and key informant interviews with residents are central to our formative research, helping shape all proposed intervention strategies.
What guiding values or principles shape GA CEAL’s approach to this research?
We are deeply committed to conducting research that is both community-created and evidence-based. This is hard work, and it’s also heart work, driven by the values of community leadership and designed to address the complex determinants of health in a meaningful way.
Attend the GA CEAL presentation, The planning and implementation of a multilevel intervention to prevent diabetes and address social determinants of health utilizing a community-based participatory research approach*, at the American Public Health Association Annual meeting on Monday, November 3, 2025, from 9:15 to 9:30 a.m.

Tabia Henry Akintobi, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Last updated: October 20, 2025