scholarly journals Advocating for equity during the pandemic

BMJ Leader ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. leader-2020-000380
Author(s):  
Onyinyechi F Eke ◽  
Alister Martin ◽  
Hazar Khidir ◽  
Onyeka Otugo ◽  
Andrew Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Health Equity ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
The State ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Alternative Framework ◽  
Marginalised Groups

In response to an imminent surge in COVID-19 cases, the state of Massachusetts (MA) released its Crisis Standards of Care (CSC) guidelines in April 2020. A small group of Boston healthcare providers, community members, lawyers, ethicists and disability advocates brought to bear our collective strengths to forge a formidable coalition now known as the Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity, to champion the rights of marginalised groups that would be adversely affected by the implementation of the original MA CSC guidelines. In this coalition, members of marginalised communities were adequately represented, led discussions on the implications of implementing inequitable elements of the CSC guidelines and actively involved in creating an alternative framework. In this article, we discuss the process of building a coalition whose concerted advocacy efforts led to the revision of the MA CSC guidelines.

Lifting the voices of Spanish-speaking Kansans: a community-engaged approach to health equity

Multilingua ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Showstack ◽  
Silvia Duque ◽  
Nikki Keene Woods ◽  
Ana López ◽  
Amy Chesser
Keyword(s):  
Health Equity ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Engagement Process

Abstract An important component of social justice research is centering the voices of those individuals whose lives the research is intended to improve, not as subjects from whom researchers collect data but as active participants in a process of understanding and addressing issues of concern to the community. This ideal of community engagement slows the pace of dissemination of traditional social science or sociolinguistic scholarship but also allows scholars and community members to collaborate to identify and implement meaningful solutions to community problems. We describe a process of engagement of Spanish-speaking patients, interpreters, and healthcare providers in developing a health equity agenda for Spanish speakers in Kansas, grounded in a community-based participatory approach called Patient-Centered Outcomes Research. Stakeholders were engaged through sharing and amplifying their testimonios, stories that tied personal experiences of encountering language barriers in healthcare with calls to action, and they contributed to decisions about what to do with the stories and how to respond to the problems they identified. The result of our engagement process is the formation of a community-based team that has amplified the voices of Spanish-speaking patients and families to reach a range of audiences and responded to a number of evolving community needs. We provide recommendations for language researchers interested in pursuing community-engaged work and explore the possibilities for aligning such work with the expectations of academic institutions.

Attitudes Towards Fluoride Supplementation: Survey of Pediatric Healthcare Providers in the State of Hawaii

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vince Yamashiroya ◽  
Princeton Ly ◽  
Donald Hayes ◽  
Matthew Turnure ◽  
Louise Iwaishi
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
The State ◽  
Pediatric Healthcare

Ethical and Legal Issues in Bioterrorism Events

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Erwin ◽  
Sheryl Dacso
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
Ethical And Legal Issues

Abstract A coordinated response to bioterrorism events requires the participation of healthcare providers, governmental agencies, ethicists, and community members. We describe some of the ethical and considerations that should go into planning for these events.

scholarly journals Stroke Rehabilitation - An Overview of Existing Guidelines and Standards of Care

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D Zorowitz ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Stroke Rehabilitation ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Interdisciplinary Management ◽  
Stroke Survivors ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
The Us ◽  
Guidelines And Standards ◽  
Complications Of Stroke ◽  
The Uk

Over seven million stroke survivors live in the US today. Despite the publication of the first post-stroke rehabilitation clinical practice guideline in 1995, many healthcare providers are unaware not only of stroke survivors’ potential for functional recovery, but also common secondary complications of stroke. This article summarises the best available evidence-based recommendations for the interdisciplinary management of stroke survivors and caregivers from five sources: two in the US, one in Canada, and two in the UK. Unique characteristics of each guideline are described, followed by a list of common clinical recommendations found in most, if not all, of the guidelines. Despite the advances in stroke rehabilitation over the past 16 years, much research still needs to be done to improve the level of evidence in stroke rehabilitation.

Kangaroo mother care: Understanding community low birth weight baby care perceptions and practices for designing appropriate community based KMC implementation package: a formative research. (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabina Ariff ◽  
Ikram Maznani ◽  
Maria Bhura ◽  
Zahid Memon ◽  
Tayyaba Arshad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Low Birth Weight ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Newborn Care ◽  
Formative Research ◽  
Kangaroo Mother Care ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Hospital Administrators ◽  
Skin Contact

BACKGROUND Low birth weight (LBW) is a common outcome of preterm birth and increases the risk of an infant’s morbidity and mortality. About 20 million infants are born with low birth weight globally. Since a significant number of births in Pakistan take place at home, it is important to focus on the use of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) (skin-to-skin contact) in communities to prevent neonatal mortality and morbidity. OBJECTIVE We conducted a formative research in order to understand the context of communities and facilities with regards to neonatal care and KMC practice, inform the design and delivery of culturally appropriate platforms to introduce KMC in communities, and develop effective recruitment and retention strategies of KMC, in rural areas of district Dadu, in the Sindh province. METHODS We conducted focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and key informant interviews with families of LBW babies, community members, healthcare providers and hospital administrators to identify barriers, enablers and a knowledge base for KMC interventions. RESULTS Newborn care practices in communities were subpar. Although KMC practices are not commonly practiced in communities and facilities and the method is unknown to many, family members were willing to provide KMC to LBW babies to improve their health outcomes. Community members, hospital administrators and healthcare providers widely accepted the practice for neonatal health and found it feasible and convenient. CONCLUSIONS The KMC as a method of treating low birth weight babies is widely accepted in the community. This formative research provided strategically effective ways for developing effective implementation strategies by identifying common community practices for LBW babies, and barriers and enablers to KMC practice.

Protocol for the Development and Rapid-Response Deployment of Pandemic Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment Response (PACER) Training (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Fung ◽  
Jenny JW Liu ◽  
Mandana Vahabi ◽  
Alan Tai-Wai Li ◽  
Mateusz Zurowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intervention Program ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Psychological Resilience ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Acceptance And Commitment ◽  
Ace Model ◽  
Chinese Canadian ◽  
Collective Empowerment

BACKGROUND During a global pandemic, it is critical to rapidly deploy a psychological intervention to support the mental health and resilience of highly affected individuals and communities. OBJECTIVE This is the impetus behind the development and implementation of the Pandemic Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment Response (PACER) Training, an online blended-skills building intervention to increase the resilience and wellbeing of participants while promoting their individual and collective empowerment and capacity-building. METHODS Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and social justice-based Group Empowerment Psychoeducation (GEP), we developed the Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment (ACE) model to enhance psychological resilience and collective empowerment. PACER program consists of six online interactive self-guided modules complemented by six weekly 90 minutes facilitator-led video-conference group sessions. RESULTS As of August 2021, a total of 325 participants have enrolled in the PACER program. Participants include frontline healthcare providers and Chinese Canadian community members. CONCLUSIONS The PACER program is an innovative intervention program with the potential for increasing psychological resilience and collective empowerment while reducing mental distress during the pandemic.

Risk, Activism, and Empowerment

Oncology ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 739-762
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Eid ◽  
Isaac Nahon-Serfaty
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Cancer Awareness ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Self Advocacy ◽  
Low Health Literacy ◽  
The Right ◽  
Prevention Methods

The prevalence of breast cancer in Venezuela is particularly alarming, which is attributed to healthcare inequalities, low health literacy, and lagging compliance with prevention methods (i.e., screening and mammography). While the right to health is acknowledged by the Venezuelan constitution, activism beyond governmental confines is required to increase women's breast cancer awareness and decrease mortality rates. Through the development of social support and strategic communicative methods enacted by healthcare providers, it may be possible to empower women with the tools necessary for breast cancer prevention. This paper discusses issues surrounding women's breast cancer, such as awareness of the disease and its risks, self-advocacy, and the roles of activists, healthcare providers, and society. Specifically, it describes a four-year action-oriented research project developed in Venezuela, which was a collaborative work among researchers, practitioners, NGOs, patients, journalists, and policymakers. The outcomes include higher levels of awareness and interest among community members and organizations to learn and seek more information about women's breast cancer, better understandings of the communicated messages, more media coverage and medical consultations, increasing positive patient treatments, expansion of networking of NGOs, as well as a widely supported declaration for a national response against breast cancer in Venezuela.

Predicting Diabetes amongst Native American Elders

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-43
Author(s):  
S. Upadhyaya ◽  
K. Farahmand ◽  
T. Baker-Demaray
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Native Americans ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Operating Characteristic ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Policy Makers

One in three Americans will be diabetic by 2050, and the rate of diabetes is disproportionately high among Native Americans, especially among Native elders age 55 and older. Early identification and prevention strategies have been regarded as the cornerstone of preventative medicine. The objective of the authors’ research was to identify factors related to diabetes and their interactions specifically among Native elders and develop a simple prediction model which can be used by healthcare professionals while interacting with Native elders in remote or rural areas. Data from a survey of 18,078 Native American elders was used in their study. After eliminating outliers using Pearson’s residuals and Cook’s distance, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.7812 for men and 0.7230 for women. The results from the authors’ analysis provide additional perspective on how diabetes affects Native elders thus helping healthcare providers and policy makers when dealing with these community members.

scholarly journals The Healthcare Providers-Patients Relationship and State Obligations in Times of Public Health Emergency

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-298
Author(s):  
Gloria C. Nwafor ◽  
Anthony O. Nwafor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
West African ◽  
The State ◽  
The West ◽  
State Obligations

The recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (evd) in the West African sub-region sprung challenges on the healthcare providers in the observance of their ethical rules in dealing with their patients and the State in fulfilling its obligations to ensure that the rights of patients are respected in times of public health emergency. The ethical rules of medical practice demand that the healthcare providers prefer the interests of their patients to the preservation of self. The State is by law under obligation to protect and respect the rights of the patients in all situations. The paper argues that the responses by the healthcare providers and the States in the West African sub region in the wake of the public health emergency fell short of the demands of the ethical rules of the medical profession and the obligation to ensure that the rights of the patients are respected.

scholarly journals 3573 Critical Barriers to Effective Community-Academic Research Partnerships and Potential Solutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (s1) ◽  
pp. 86-87
Author(s):  
Susan J Woolford ◽  
Ayse G. Buyuktur ◽  
Patricia Piechowski ◽  
Aalap Doshi ◽  
Erica E. Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
The State ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Research Partnerships ◽  
Partnership Development ◽  
Community Engaged Research ◽  
Academic Partnerships ◽  
Effective Community

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Background: The importance of engaging community in research and fostering community-academic research partnerships is increasingly acknowledged by Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institutes. However, forming and maintaining such collaborations is often hampered by numerous challenges. It is critical to investigate the barriers to effective community-academic partnerships and to develop novel approaches to overcome these barriers. Objective: To explore community and academic perspectives of the challenges faced by community-academic research partnerships and potential solutions to these identified challenges. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Methods: In an effort to explore creative approaches to address these issues, the Community Engagement Program at the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR), the CTSA site that serves Michigan, hosted a retreat to elicit the input of community members and academics from across the state. There was a mix of participants ranging from those with established community-academic partnerships to others who were new to community-engaged research and in early stages of forming partnerships. At the retreat, attendees were randomly divided into groups and asked to answer the specific question, “What are your barriers to partnering in research?” After each group identified a set of barriers and reported their findings to the entire room, attendees were asked to work again in their small groups to discuss potential solutions to these barriers. Ideas for solutions were also shared with the entire room. As part of the process of brainstorming about these questions, attendees were asked to document their ideas --- for both barriers and solutions --- on post-it notes which were then grouped by category. Artifacts from the retreat were saved digitally and transcripts made from these records. The findings were then analyzed to identify common themes. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Results: Eighty-six participants attended the retreat from across the state of Michigan. Forty-three represented community organizations that focus on addressing a wide array of social determinants of health issues. The remaining forty-three participants represented various academic institutions. The most frequently mentioned challenges to community-academic partnerships were related to communication and relationship building. To overcome barriers in these areas, participants noted that it is critical to collaboratively and explicitly identify shared goals, values and norms in the early stages of partnership development. This was closely linked to the need for additional funding to help foster and strengthen relationships by allowing partners to spend time together to both work and socialize informally, preferably in face-to-face settings. These were deemed crucial for building trust and common ground. In addition, more equitable funding and role distribution --- including shared leadership and governance of research projects between community and academia--- that recognizes and supports the true costs of involvement in research for community members was viewed as important. Other frequently noted issues on the part of community members were the need for greater respect for community partners and for more training opportunities to build capacity within communities to participate in research. Participants from academic institutions emphasized that the current requirements and timeline for promotion in academia make it harder for them to participate in community-engaged research, especially as early career researchers. They maintained that wider recognition of the value of community-engaged research is necessary and that this requires the support of home departments. Finally, participants underscored the importance of building infrastructure to better connect potential partners from the community and academia by making it easier to identify common interests and reciprocal strengths. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Conclusion: The problems faced by community-academic partnerships may be alleviated by working with community and academic members to identify potential solutions. Further work is needed to systematically examine barriers and the efficacy of solutions to enhance community-academic partnerships. Acknowledgements: We thank all attendees of the MICHR Community Engagement retreat for their participation in this activity that explored barriers to effective community-academic partnerships. Their honest and frank feedback was essential to broaching sensitive topics related to partnership development, and to identify realistic and practical solutions. We also thank all members of the planning committee and our colleagues in the Community Engagement Program for their work on bringing together community and academic members for this retreat. This project was supported by grant number UL1TR002240 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).

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