Community Outreach Initiatives Research Articles

Re]vitalize Khoisan Art and Culture via a Community Outreach Initiative

During the last decade, community engagement has emerged as an important priority among many universities in South Africa. The concept of community engagement can be defined as the “collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. The rieldans is one of the oldest forms of tradition, cultural and entertainment practices by the Khoisan as indigenous peoples of Southern Africa. This paper explores the impact of a community outreach project to [re]vitalize the rieldans as Khoisan cultural knowledge in which a community inquiry-based research approach is employed. Data were collected through oral history and focus group interviews. A way forward is plotted for the [re]vitalisation of Khoisan art and culture to advance indigenous knowledge in a democratic South Africa.

Empowering Underserved Populations Through Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

It is well documented that cancer is disproportionately distributed in racial/ethnic minority groups and medically underserved communities. In addition, cancer prevention and early detection represent the key defenses to combat cancer. The purpose of this article is to showcase the comprehensive health education and community outreach activities at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute (Moffitt) designed to promote and increase access to and utilization of prevention and early detection services among underserved populations. One of Moffitt's most important conduits for cancer prevention and early detection among underserved populations is through its community education and outreach initiatives, in particular, the Moffitt Program for Outreach Wellness Education and Resources (M-POWER). M-POWER works to empower underserved populations to make positive health choices and increase screening behaviors through strengthening collaboration and partnerships, providing community-based health education/promotion, and increasing access to care. Effective, empowering, and culturally and linguistically competent health education and community outreach, is key to opening the often impenetrable doors of cancer prevention and early detection to this society's most vulnerable populations.

The Tambani project: A computer animation of <i>The Greedy Hippo</i>

This article presented an investigation of and reflection on the techniques and production processes used to transform a traditional Ngano Venda folktale, The Greedy Hippo, from embroideries into a digitally animated film. The article was guided by a method derived from a practice-based research model for creative production which describes ways in which creative outputs can be regarded as a viable research option. The method comprised the documentation of and reflection on the project in three phases, namely pre-production, production and postproduction. The Tambani embroidery project is a community outreach initiative launched by Ina le Roux. Ngano is the collective noun for traditional Venda folklore. In this article, we argued that computer animation techniques could be implemented successfully in the digital transformation of a Venda folktale that was originally part of an oral tradition. We demonstrated this argument by means of Christiaan van der Westhuizen’s transformation of The Greedy Hippo folktale into a computer animation format.

Q19 Intensive rehabilitation for Huntington's disease: a qualitative study of participants' and health professionals' experiences

BackgroundIn 2010, a multidisciplinary, group-based, intensive rehabilitation programme for individuals with early to mid-stage Huntington's disease (HD) was established at two rehabilitation centres in Norway. The programme included intensive physical...

Health care reform: Pharmacy's opportunity to move forward

Health care reform: Pharmacy's opportunity to move forward

The Development of a Gender Identity Psychosocial Clinic: Treatment Issues, Logistical Considerations, Interdisciplinary Cooperation, and Future Initiatives

Few interdisciplinary treatment programs that tend to the needs of youth with gender nonconforming behaviors, expressions, and identities exist in academic medical centers with formal residency training programs. Despite this, the literature provides evidence that these youth have higher rates of poor psychosocial adjustment and suicide attempts. This article explores the logistical considerations involved in developing a specialized interdisciplinary service to these gender minority youth in accordance with the existing treatment guidelines.Demographic data will be presented and treatment issues will be explored. The impact that a specialized interdisciplinary treatment program has on clinical expansion, research development, education and training, and community outreach initiatives is discussed.

Evaluation of the Avon Foundation Community Education and Outreach Initiative Community Patient Navigation Program

Black women in the United States experience disproportionate breast cancer mortality. Culturally appropriate community education on the importance of breast health coupled with the availability of free or low-cost mammography screening services may help improve the use of mammography screening services among Black women. The Avon Foundation Community Patient Navigation Program seeks to fill this need. The current study presents a process and outcome evaluation of this program. Trained and uniformed community patient navigators (PNs) host breast health education events where they recruit community members to complete a mammography interest form. Participants are referred to a nurse practitioner who determines eligibility for a free or low-cost mammogram. The community PN delivers telephone follow-up to encourage participants to make and keep their mammogram appointments. Over a 15-month period, 22 community PNs hosted 207 breast health events, which included 9,601 attendees. Three hundred and four participants completed a mammography interest form, and 21% of these individuals received mammograms at the collaborating health facility. Participants who reported breast symptoms were twice as likely to get a mammogram as those who did not report symptoms. Community patient navigation may be a useful resource for encouraging mammography screening among underserved women.

A Qualitative Evaluation of the Avon Foundation Community Education and Outreach Initiative Patient Navigation Program

This study presents a qualitative evaluation of the Avon Foundation Community Education and Outreach Initiative (CEOI) Patient Navigation Program. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with breast cancer patients (N = 18) of the CEOI Patient Navigation Program. Primary strengths of the program include the nature of the relationship between the patient and navigator, the availability of navigators to attend appointments, and the fact that navigators were breast cancer survivors. The process of enrolling patients into the program was a weakness. Participants described positive experiences with this program. They also identified areas of improvement that are relevant to other patient navigation programs in the US.

School-university CPD partnerships: Fertile ground for cultivating teacher communities of practice

Continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers is a neglected area of teacher development in South Africa. The introduction of a new national curriculum in the post-apartheid era presents enormous challenges for teachers. CPD initiatives in South Africa thus far have been fragmented, diluted and have had little direct influence on teachers' practice. This article draws on a community of practice framework and applies the work of Wenger (1998) and Wenger, McDermott and Snyder (2004) in analysing the development of CPD communities of practice. It argues that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through their community outreach initiatives can play a powerful role in advancing teacher continuing professional development by developing and strengthening teacher communities of practice.

Twelve-month treatment of psychiatric disorders in the South African Stress and Health Study (World Mental Health Survey Initiative).

The proportion of people with mental disorders in treatment is relatively small in low and middle income countries. However, little is known about patterns of recent service use in a country like South Africa. A nationally representative household survey of 4,351 adult South Africans was carried out. Twelve-month DSM-IV disorders were determined using the WHO composite international diagnostic interview (CIDI). Prevalence and correlates of treatment were assessed among respondents with anxiety, mood and substance use disorders. One-fourth (25.5%) of respondents with a 12-month disorder had received treatment in the past 12 months either from a psychiatrist (3.8%), nonpsychiatrist mental health specialist (2.9%), general medical provider (16.6%), human services provider (6.6%), or complementary-alternative medical (CAM) provider (5.9%). Only 27.6% of severe cases had received any treatment. In addition, 13.4% of respondents with no disorder had accessed services in the past year. Blacks were significantly more likely than other racial groups to access the CAM sector while Whites were more likely to have seen a psychiatrist. The majority of South Africans with a 12-month mental disorder have unmet treatment needs. In addition to a greater allocation of resources to mental health services, more community outreach and awareness initiatives are needed.

Effects of an outreach and internal navigation program on breast cancer diagnosis in an urban cancer center with a large African‐American population

Compared with white women, African-American (AA) women who are diagnosed with breast cancer experience an excess in mortality. To improve outcomes, the authors implemented community education and outreach initiatives in their cancer center, at affiliated primary care sites, and in the surrounding communities. They then assessed the effectiveness of these outreach initiatives and internal patient navigation on stage of diagnosis. This cross-sectional study was an analysis of all women with breast cancer who were diagnosed and/or treated in the years from 2001 through 2004. The outreach initiatives were implemented in 2001; 125 trained Community Health Advocates (CHAs) provided educational programs to the community, and Patient Navigators communicated directly with patients to encourage screening, diagnostic procedures, and treatment. In total, 487 patients were diagnosed/treated from 2001 through 2004. Since 2001, there were 1148 community interventions by CHAs with an estimated program attendance of >10,000 participants. In the interval from 2001 through 2004, the proportion of stage 0 (in situ) breast cancers increased from 12.4% (n = 14) to 25.8% (n = 33; P < .005), and there was a decline in stage IV invasive breast cancers from 16.8% (n = 19) to 9.4% (n = 12; P < .05). The outreach initiatives and internal patient navigation appear to have improved stage at diagnosis. To determine whether specific patients presented earlier as a result of specific community outreach initiatives, prospective work is underway to measure the effects of these interventions on potential stage migration. Similarly, prospective data are being collected to determine whether Patient Navigators influence treatment and appointment adherence as well as the underlying reasons for barriers to specific interventions in this underserved minority population.

Oral cancer awareness among immigrant Indo-Canadian community of Vancouver, BC&#x0D; &#x0D;

As a part of the community outreach initiatives of the British Columbia Oral Cancer Prevention Program, our team members recently participated in a local health fair at a multicultural health centre to educate and spread awareness about oral health and oral cancer. The attendees from the Indo-Canadian community presented us with an insightful perspective and questions. It is routine and normal practice in Indian culture and tradition to chew betel quid (containing various amounts of betel leaf, lime, areca nut, and tobacco) after meals. The socially acceptable habit of betel-quid chewing is believed to aid digestion after food. Betel quid is also a taste enhancer and breath freshener, and is also used as traditional medicine for a variety of ailments

Universities and Climate Change Mitigation: Advancing Grassroots Climate Policy in the US

While US climate change mitigation policy has stalled at the national level, local and regional actors are increasingly taking progressive steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Universities are poised to play a key role in this grassroots effort by targeting their own emissions and by working with other local actors to develop climate change mitigation programmes. Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University have collaborated with university administrators and personnel to inventory campus emissions and develop mitigation strategies. In addition, they have facilitated a stakeholder-driven climate change mitigation project in one Pennsylvania county and started an ongoing service-learning project aimed at reducing emissions in another county. These campus and community outreach initiatives demonstrate that university-based mitigation action may simultaneously achieve tangible local benefits and develop solutions to broader challenges facing local climate change mitigation efforts. Outcomes include improved tools and protocols for measuring and reducing local emissions, lessons learned about service-learning approaches to climate change mitigation, and methods for creating climate change governance networks involving universities, local governments and community stakeholders.

Salud Para Su Corazón-NCLR: A Comprehensive Promotora Outreach Program to Promote Heart-Healthy Behaviors Among Hispanics

This article describes results of year-1 implementation of the Salud Para Su Corazón (Health For Your Heart)-National Council of la Raza (NCLR) promotora (lay health worker) program for promoting heart-healthy behaviors among Latinos. Findings of this community outreach initiative include data from promotora pledges and self-skill behaviors, cardiovascular disease risk factors of Latino families, family heart-health education delivery, and program costs associated with promotora time. Participation included 29 trained promotoras serving 188 families from three NCLR affiliates in Escondido, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Ojo Caliente, New Mexico. Using several evaluation tools, the results showed that the promotora approach worked based on evidence obtained from the following indicators: changes in promotora's pre-post knowledge and performance skills, progress toward their pledge goals following training, recruiting and teaching families, providing follow-up, and organizing or participating in community events. Strengths and limitations of the promotora model approach are also discussed.

Outlook for Environmental Problems and Food safety-Cooperative network and policy making for protecting life and agricultural environment

This symposium aims at identifying what problems we are confronted with concerning the environment and food safety in the 21st century, how we can make a cooperative network and formulate a policy for protecting life and agricultural environment and what tasks we should take upon ourselves in the domain of agricultural medicine and rural health. The symposium extended its scope from the interest of consumers to social needs of food safety, recovering movement of trust in food safety by the government, international standardization of policy for food safety, increasing relationship between food and environment pollution, and a new public management concerning the ecosystem and food safety. The following research problems are important for the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine as motives of cooperative work between producers, consumers and researchers; national strategy for food safety control, development or revision of food regulations and standards of safety, a program for strengthening food surveillance and control systems, enhancement research work of food and environment surveillance, and promotion of consumer education and other community outreach initiatives.

The African American church and university partnerships: establishing lasting collaborations.

This article highlights the experiences of the Health Wise Church Project, a community outreach initiative between a diverse group of African American churches and a university health education program. The objective of the program was to develop early detection and illness prevention networks among older church members. Not all partnerships results in long-term collaborations, and this article makes a clear distinction between different types of "working together" arrangements. The project discussed in this article presents a four-stage model to illustrate how organizations achieve collaborative partnerships. Involving community partners in the early phase of project planning contributed to the success of the church-university collaboration. This type of shared planning helped to sustain community interest during the project's implementation.

Heart disease education and prevention program targeting immigrant Latinos: using focus group responses to develop effective interventions.

Although research has provided considerable knowledge concerning the positive effects of behavioral change on morbidity and mortality from heart disease and related risk factors, some segments of the population have not benefited equitably from this information. In April 1995, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) conducted seven focus groups to determine knowledge and attitudes about heart disease and associated risk factors, identify media usage and preferences, and assess publications usage and preferences among Spanish-speaking Latino immigrants residing in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. This information was gathered to assist in the development of key messages and strategies for the NHLBI Latino Community Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Outreach Initiative, Salud para su Corazón--a heart disease prevention and education campaign. Findings from these focus groups indicate that Latinos may not benefit from heart disease prevention messages developed for the general population because of language and cultural differences. The researchers concluded that health education and disease prevention programs targeting the Latino community should develop educational materials and interventions that address language preferences and cultural values. Furthermore, to be effective, these programs should show people how to make positive behavioral changes based on their current circumstances, while remaining sensitive to the fact that Latino immigrants face major life adjustments and many are still greatly influenced by their country of origin.