Progress in Community Health Partnerships-Research Education and Action最新文献

With an aging population, there is a growing concern regarding Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD). Underserved racial and ethnic groups, including Korean Americans (KAs), face challenges in accessing ADRD information. To better understand the issues on ADRD among KA elders and involve them in community initiatives, the Korean Community Services in New York conducted three listening sessions: two sessions with individuals of different age groups (40 and above and 65 and above) and one with caregivers or individuals who interact with ADRD patients. Negative perceptions and a lack of ADRD knowledge were reported, with an openness to utilizing long-term care among KAs. Recommendations included support groups, seminars from medical professionals, and early screening. Continuing efforts on culturally-tailored campaigns and initiatives targeting the KA community are needed to bridge knowledge gaps and increase awareness of ADRD. The listening sessions offer valuable insights for tailoring health campaigns for di verse populations.

This paper introduces a 48-page guide for conducting qualitative interviews with Native Hawaiian elders. The guide was developed based on work with and for Native Hawaiian elders through a partnership between ALU LIKE, Inc., a community-based service provider, and Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Components of the guide include a brief history of research harms experienced by Native Hawaiians, a summary of advancements in Hawaiian-led research, tips for researcher self-reflection as required by community-based research, and recommendations for successfully engaging community, developing research questions, gathering and analyzing data, and reporting findings in ways meaningful to community members. Although experiences of colonization and discrimination are unique to each group, this protocol has application for qualitative research with other Indigenous and minority communities.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common blood disorder in the United States. Self-management is vital for mitigating sickle cell symptoms. However, limited research has presented self-identified priorities and needs for self-management among adults living with SCD, and few researchers have used a community-engaged research approach.

Objectives: We conducted community-engaged, qualitative research to learn about self-management needs among adults living with SCD.

Methods: Focus groups were conducted among adults with SCD and stakeholders in the SCD community (parents of adults with SCD and health care providers). A qualitative descriptive design and thematic analysis were used.

Results: Four focus groups were conducted with 23 adults living with SCD and one was conducted with four community stakeholders. Of the adults with SCD (ages 20-34), 69.6% (n = 16) were ages 25 to 34, and 87% (n = 20) had sickle cell anemia. All (100%, n = 23) identified as Black and most (69.6%, n = 16) identified as female. All four community stakeholders identified as Black females and were ages 50 to 55. Thematic analysis generated three themes: (1) unsafe health care, (2) mental health needs and psychosocial support, and (3) successfully transitioning from pediatric care to adult care.

Conclusions: Health care gaps and health care providers' biases are barriers to successful SCD self-management. Therefore, for individuals with SCD, interventions should be developed to anticipate the transition from pediatric care to adult care, improve health care, and support self-management strategies and skills.

Background: Navigating project funder requirements while collaborating with partners can be challenging. The Ohio implementation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-funded Integrated Care for Kids model offers an example of making this work while improving well-being and decreasing costs for Medicaid-enrolled children.

Objectives: To reflect on the implementation experience when building a community partnership council and offer recommendations to address challenges.

Methods: Lead organization project staff and partnership council members completed online surveys to identify barriers/facilitators of collaboration. Thematic qualitative analysis was conducted.

Results: We identified funding limitations, project ambiguities, and power and resource imbalances as project-specific challenges. Other challenges included implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic and management within a complex state health policy landscape.

Conclusions: Building and sustaining community-academic partnerships while navigating funder requirements is challenging and require patience, trust, and intentional effort. We provide several recommendations to help others navigate challenges to enhance trust and collaboration.

A local health department in Southern Arizona developed an equitable compensation model for a community-driven health literacy initiative. Guided by human-centered design principles, which emphasize the expertise of those most systemically impacted, the model sought to equitably value lived experience alongside subject matter expertise, in alignment with distributive justice. The model blended market, reimbursement, and wage-payment frameworks, with adjustments based on local labor conditions and federal funding limits. Payments to participants were capped below IRS reporting thresholds to avoid disrupting eligibility for public benefits. Implementation challenges included gift card fraud, administrative delays, and barriers related to public-sector procurement. Promotoras and partners reported that compensation supported participation, especially among individuals new to public health programs. Although outcomes were not formally evaluated, this case study offers practice-based insights and addresses gaps in the literature by detailing rate structures, payment mechanisms, and budget considerations for appropriate compensation in community-centered public health work.

The problem: Community coalitions provide a pathway for localization of health promotion efforts. However, sustaining and institutionalizing a community coalition requires a transition period that has not been well described in the extant literature.

Purpose: To describe how a multi-sector community-wide cancer prevention program transitioned a community coalition to independence as well as process outcomes and lessons learned from ongoing sustainability planning for two additional community coalitions.

Key points: The transition of a coalition to sustained local leadership utilizes a ten-step process adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sustainability Planning Guide including: nominating a coalition transition partner, building capacity for the transition, and creating ongoing support structures. To date, one community is successfully transitioned to localization, one is transitioning to sustainability, and one is in the implementation phase. Over 9,000 person-hours of capacity building were provided across communities and coalition members consistently agreed that collaborations and activities could be sustained.

Conclusions: Planning for sustainability through a thoughtful transition period has the potential to increase long-term viability of community coalitions.

Background: Rural communities experience increased barriers to vaccination and have limited resources to combat the COVID-19 pandemic compared with their urban counterparts. Community-based strategies to improve access, encourage uptake and compliance, and reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy are essential to reduce disparities, illness, and death in rural populations.

Objectives: The aim of our project was to develop a long-lasting partnership with a rural community health system in upstate New York to improve COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Methods: The collaboration designed, implemented, and evaluated culturally appropriate behavioral messaging mapped to the Health Belief Model.

Lessons learned: The community-university partnership was successful because of a bidirectional exchange of information, a strong foundation of trust, equitable involvement of all partners in all phases, and community empowerment and ownership of the process and the materials.

Conclusions: This project highlighted the importance of collaborating with community partners to create unique, culturally appropriate materials for rural audiences.

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death for individuals with serious mental illness, including schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Yet, despite substantial research and awareness initiatives globally, suicide death rates continue to rise. A multifaceted approach to suicide prevention is needed with community involvement in planning, implementation, and dissemination efforts.

Objectives: The primary objective of this paper is to describe the partnership between an academic university and local community mental health department to engage the community in suicide prevention efforts.

Methods: As part of a partnership between Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and a suicide prevention research team at the University of Michigan, events were designed to engage community members in the dissemination of the team's suicide prevention research. Dissemination efforts included six community events with a variety of giveaway materials to raise awareness, promote hope, and foster engagement in suicide prevention.Results/Lessons Learned: Community-driven initiatives facilitated resource sharing, conversation, and engagement in art among more than 450 attendees, ultimately contributing to hopefulness and suicide prevention awareness. Lessons learned include the essential role of engagement in suicide prevention efforts, collaborative resource sharing, and mutual benefit within a bi-directional and equitable academic-community partnership.

Conclusion: This academic-community partnership highlights the diverse set of skills, perspectives, and resources that can be collaboratively joined to engage community members in the dissemination of research and suicide prevention initiatives. These experiences may also inform dissemination efforts in other health education areas more broadly.

Background: Nurturing academics' and communities' capacity to conduct community-engaged research holds great promise for effectively addressing health disparities. However, how to best support collaborations beyond individual projects and across an entire community is unclear.

Objectives: This study describes the development and structure of a community-based research network in Cleveland, Ohio. It examines the experiences of academic investigators and community members with the community-based research network and highlights lessons learned.

Methods: The mixed-methods study employed surveys, observations, and focus group data to examine participants' experiences.

Results: Academic investigators found the community-based research network to be valuable across all phases of research. Community members gained knowledge and felt it was a safe space to share their expertise and experiences. Participants generally appreciated being in a space to connect with others who shared their interests.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that community-level research support can help encourage and advance academic/community research partnerships while broadening members' knowledge and networks.

Background: Ecotoxicology provides powerful tools to characterize the nature and effects of pollution, which can be impactful when used in community-engaged research (CEnR). However, academic researchers are often insufficiently informed about the communities in which they conduct research. Researchers are not usually from or familiar with the cultural nuances of these communities, which is problematic for the strength of community-engaged projects. CEnR in ecotoxicology integrates local ecological knowledge and cultural understanding of communities with academic disciplines. Our ecotoxicological investigations of the health effects of pesticides, perchlorate, and toxic metals among residents of the Sonora-Arizona border involve direct collaboration among university researchers and local community groups.

Objectives: We created a protocol for establishing and maintaining community-university partnerships to address ecotoxicological effects of pollution. Our step-by-step process fosters genuine research relationships, leading to better outcomes for the affected communities.

Methods: We compiled information collected by our team members through qualitative interviews and group discussions. Using integrated perspectives, we created research protocols for sustainable and equitable partnerships in community-based ecotoxicology. The steps illustrate effective practices for beginning, building, and bolstering such partnerships.

Conclusions: Ecotoxicology projects require expertise from an array of fields. Investigators approach projects with different background knowledge, training, and experiences. In effective partnerships, each group adds significant value to the overall project, whether that contribution is technical proficiency, local knowledge, or cultural wisdom. These partnerships require trusting relationships and suit organizations committed to long-term collaborations. Our approach offers a replicable model for transdisciplinary teams seeking to conduct meaningful, collaborative ecotoxicology research.