Building Sustainable Partnerships Research Articles

Mental Health First Aid Training in Rural Maryland during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Program Implementation through Virtual Delivery

The growing mental health concerns during COVID-19, particularly among rural residents, is a public health emergency. Rural residents are at an elevated risk, as rurality has been associated with various disparities, including lower accessibility to mental health services. Maryland Rural Opioid Technical Assistance (ROTA; Maryland Extension) aimed to address this issue by delivering evidence-based programs on opioid misuse and mental health to rural community members and practitioners throughout Maryland when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and all research activities had to transition to the virtual setting. The current study provides an overview of the implementation process of the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program and reports the findings from the evaluation efforts. Participants (N = 398) completed a one-time online survey and answered open-ended questions, reporting high satisfaction rates and positive experiences with the virtual delivery of the program. Results suggested that the virtual format was still effective in program content delivery and that virtual delivery of evidence-based programs may be an opportune strategy to reach more rural residents. Recommendations for future research and practice efforts include building sustainable partnerships with local community organizations and considering rurality and prolonged-pandemic factors for effective program implementation.

Labor integration of refugees in a socio-economic perspective

As in most European countries, as in our country, migrants have lower employment rates. However, there are differences between different groups of migrants. Refugees, as a separate and more specific migrant group, are much less integrated in the labour market. Their concentration tends to be in larger cities and regions, which creates numerous challenges for local authorities and labour markets. On the other hand, tracking the work, benefits and effects of refugee integration can support a more systematic approach to studying their labour integration based on actual activities. Given this, the purpose of this report is to emphasize the labour integration of refugees in a socio-economic perspective with a focus on the benefits of the process in the territory of Sofia. Research methods include synthesis and analysis of various sources, as well as review of the work of organizations, institutions and structures involved in the process. The results represent efforts and progress in relation to the labour integration of refugees, through cooperation and building sustainable partnerships. The conclusions show that in this way, not only policies, measures and good practices can be created to serve for the more successful integration of refugees, but also to achieve benefits and effects for the cities with their higher concentration of economic and social point of view.

Abstract A128: Building sustainable partnerships between cancer centers and safety net community hospitals to increase access to and quality of cancer care

Abstract Background: Cervical cancer outcomes are influenced by race, socioeconomic status and region. African American women have the highest mortality rate from cervical cancer and Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native women have the highest cervical cancer incidence rates among racial/ethnic groups. Disparities in cervical cancer can be greatly improved by increasing access to and awareness of Pap screening and HPV vaccination among vulnerable populations. Safety net and community hospitals offer broader opportunities to reach at-risk individuals, however these hospitals face many challenges that mirror those of the patients they serve, including: decreased access to innovative research and treatment, decreased access to the full range of specialty care, and funding challenges. Public-Public partnerships between academic medical centers, cancer centers and private service organizations that extend to safety net and community hospitals can increase cervical cancer screening rates among individuals at greatest risk. Methods: The Loretto Hospital and Norwegian American Hospital serve communities that suffer the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in Chicago. Funded by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, the University of Illinois Cancer Center partnered with these two community hospitals located on the west sides of Chicago to increase cervical cancer screening rates through clinical and community patient navigation. Evidence based methods such as small media interventions, client reminders, and one-on-one education will also be used to increase screening awareness and education. The evidence-based, implementation science program is guided by the RE-AIM framework. Reach, adoption and sustainability will be maximized through the integration of community hubs that comprise faith-, community-, school-based organizations and policy makers. Results: The project is a three year project. Now in its pre-implementation phase, the program is currently piloting data instrumentation and implementation processes. Preliminary results will be presented at the meeting. The Partnership development phase has been achieved and Full implementation will begin August 2019. Conclusion: It is expected that building partnerships between large academic medical centers, cancer centers and community hospitals will increase the capacity of community hospitals to offer quality screening and specialized care to community members and increase access to cervical cancer screening and education among at-risk populations ultimately decreasing cervical cancer disparities among underserved populations in the University of Illinois Cancer Center catchment. Citation Format: Vida Henderson, Jessica Madrigal, Jeanette Gonzalez, Erica Martinez, Katherine Tossas-Milligan, Patricia Doykos, Karriem Watson, Robert Winn. Building sustainable partnerships between cancer centers and safety net community hospitals to increase access to and quality of cancer care [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A128.

Under the Same Sky: Connecting Students and Cultures through Circumpolar Nursing Education.

The recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural, remote, and northern regions is an ongoing challenge. The Northern Nursing Education Network brought together nursing students working in rural and remote regions of the circumpolar north in Innovative Learning Institute on Circumpolar Health (ILICH) events to create opportunities for shared learning and expose both students and faculty to local and traditional knowledge that informs health behaviors specific to regions with Indigenous populations. Using participant experience data extracted from program discussions, evaluations, and reflective notes conducted after ILICH events held in 2015–2017, this paper explores how these two-week institutes can contribute to knowledge that is locally relevant yet transferable to rural areas across the circumpolar north. The findings clustered around experiences related to (1) Language as a barrier and an enabler; (2) shared values and traditions across borders; (3) differences and similarities in nursing practice; (4) new perspectives in nursing; and (5) building sustainable partnerships. Students learned more about their own culture as well as others by exploring the importance of language, cultures, and health inequity on different continents. Shared values and traditional knowledge impacted student perspectives of social determinants of health that are highly relevant for nurses working in the circumpolar north.

Building sustainable partnerships to strengthen pediatric capacity at a government hospital in Malawi

Building sustainable partnerships to strengthen pediatric capacity at a government hospital in Malawi

Helping content

Nonprofits must reach a variety of community audiences to sustain their organizations, and these audiences include potential volunteers, donors, and clients. With the increasing availability of open-source, freely available, and inexpensive communication technologies, many nonprofits can now develop a robust web presence that targets a variety of audiences via a variety of channels. In this article, we present a three-part heuristic to help nonprofits better manage digital content. This heuristic is comprised of developing audience awareness and interaction, making use of emerging technologies, and building sustainable partnerships. Using a project designed to help a homeless shelter improve its content strategy, we explore this heuristic and its implications for helping technical and professional communicators improve local nonprofit digital capacities.

Doing No Harm? Donor Policies and Power Asymmetry in Israeli/Palestinian Peacebuilding

Drawing on data from more than forty peacebuilding initiatives and hundreds of interviews with Palestinian and Israeli peacebuilders, this briefing discusses the impact of international donor policies on peacebuilding in a context of stark asymmetry of power. More specifically, it investigates the way in which specific funding regulations—the designation of primary and subpartners, the location of local donor offices, and the restrictions placed on politically sensitive advocacy and activism—have magnified the challenges peacebuilding organizations face in terms of cultivating and sustaining legitimacy, recruiting individuals for the projects, managing internal conflict, and building sustainable partnerships. The issues are complex; substantive concerns underlie the donor policies in question, including accountability, security, and transparency, as well as the maintenance of sufficient political support for aid programs in the donor country—yet the same policies nonetheless have unintended negative consequences on the ground. We argue that donors must do more to balance their legitimate domestic concerns with understanding of imbalances in the conflict context.

Small Steps to Health: Building Sustainable Partnerships in Pediatric Obesity Care

Given the prevalence of childhood obesity and the limited support for preventing and managing obesity in primary care settings, the Seattle Children's Hospital's Children's Obesity Action Team has partnered with Steps to Health King County to develop a pediatric obesity quality-improvement project. Primary care clinics joined year-long quality-improvement collaboratives to integrate obesity prevention and management into the clinic setting by using the chronic-disease model. Sustainability was enhanced through integration at multiple levels by emphasizing small, consistent behavior changes and self-regulation of eating/feeding practices with children, teenagers, and families; building local community partnerships; and encouraging broader advocacy and policy change. Cultural competency and attention to disparities were integrated into quality-improvement efforts. . Participating clinics were able to increase BMI measurement and weight classification; integrate management of overweight/obese children and family and self-management support; and grow community collaborations. Over the course of 4 years, this project grew from a local effort involving 3 clinics to a statewide program recently adopted by the Washington State Department of Health. This model can be used by other states/regions to develop pediatric obesity quality-improvement programs to support the assessment, prevention, and management of childhood obesity. Furthermore, these health care efforts can be integrated into broader community-wide childhood-obesity action plans.

Gold Coast Primary Care Partnership Council: partnership and innovation that makes a difference

The Gold Coast Primary Care Partnership Council is bringing together diverse stakeholders to improve the health and wellbeing of their community. The inaugural chairperson and coordinator reflect on the high level of enthusiasm to work together as a promising start to building sustainable partnerships.

Building sustainable partnerships in user involvement

In a BMJ article published on June 14th 2003, Richard Smith talks of ‘helping doctors prepare for a world where true partnership with patients is the norm’.1 The inexorable move towards user or patient and public involvement (PPI) requires a review of some of the complex issues involved in these changing relationships. Much has been written about PPI over the years, but what do the various terms mean? This article offers an exploration of different types and levels of involvement and some examples of good practice within the maternity and cancer services.