Community Context Research Articles

Performance Metrics for Implementation of Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plans

Safely walking or wheeling in a wheelchair in the community is a civil and human right. Some progress has been made in the US towards making walking/wheeling paths more accessible for people with disabilities through the construction of new curb ramps, fixing sidewalk barriers, and installing accessible pedestrian signals. However, pedestrians with disabilities continue to be limited by infrastructure barriers on sidewalks and streets. To encourage progress and government transparency, we developed a set of performance metrics for local governments to monitor and report their progress in implementing barrier removal plans, called Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition plans. We used the five-step Nominal Group Technique to systematically develop and prioritize a set of performance metrics with an expert panel of ADA coordinators, disability organizations, and state and federal Department of Transportation staff. The research resulted in obtaining 53 metrics across five goals and 14 objectives that can be used to measure all phases of implementation and are intended to be customized to fit different community contexts and capacities. The metrics could be used by federal and state transportation agencies, as well as internationally, with some adaptation to ensure that adequate progress in barrier removal is being made. Local governments can use the metrics to document and communicate their progress and effectively reduce ADA compliance litigation concerns.

Race and Place Matter: Inequity in Prenatal Care for Reservation-Dwelling American Indian People.

Early initiation and consistent use of prenatal care is linked with improved health outcomes. American Indian birthing people have higher rates of inadequate prenatal care (IPNC), but limited research has examined IPNC among people living on American Indian reservations. The current study uses birth certificate data from the state of Montana (n = 57,006) to examine predictors of IPNC. Data on the community context is integrated to examine the role of community health in mediating the associations between reservation status and IPNC. Results suggest that reservation-dwelling birthers are more likely to have IPNC, an association partially mediated by community health. Odds of IPNC are higher for reservation-dwelling American Indian people compared to reservation-dwelling White birthers, highlighting intersecting inequalities of race and place.

Menstruating while homeless: navigating access to products, spaces, and services

BackgroundPeople experiencing homelessness (PEH) in the United States face substantial challenges related to menstruation, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited access to period products, heightened stigma, and gynecological challenges contribute to increased hardships for PEH, highlighting the need for improved services and policies to address period equity and overall well-being for this vulnerable population.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with PEH (n = 12) and community healthcare and social service providers (e.g., case managers, shelter directors, community health workers, and nurses, n = 12) in Lafayette, Indiana, a city located between Indianapolis and Chicago in the United States. We used thematic analysis techniques for data analysis.ResultsPEH’s limited access to products, services, and safe spaces hindered effective menstruation management within restrictive community contexts. Although community healthcare and service providers offered some support, complex interactions with the healthcare system, stigma, and limited access to spaces exacerbated barriers. The COVID-19 pandemic further intensified these difficulties by closing public spaces, worsening economic conditions, and straining service provider resources.ConclusionsResults highlight critical organizational and policy gaps in the United States for menstruation management resources and services, emphasizing the need for better integration into health and well-being programs for PEH. These insights will advance reproductive and public health research, shedding light on the disparities faced by PEH in managing menstruation in Indiana and contributing to the national discourse on addressing these barriers. Amid the complex landscape of public health, particularly during and after the pandemic, prioritizing menstrual health remains essential for all individuals’ overall well-being, including those experiencing homelessness.

Benefit Sharing Governance Framework: Pathways for Financial Benefit Sharing in Traditional Communities

This article proposes the creation of a participatory governance framework for traditional communities, focusing on financial benefits sharing, whether they come from compensation, indemnification, or socio-environmental projects. The proposed governance framework was developed based on a series of governance principles and the perceptions and needs of fourteen traditional communities in the Brazilian Amazon. The results demonstrated that applied experiences were successful. In this way, the proposed framework presents itself as a mechanism that can be adapted to the specifics of managing financial resources in community contexts.

Evidence-Based Program Implementation Variability in New Contexts: The Head Start REDI Program

AbstractThis study involved a pilot implementation of an evidence based school readiness intervention in new community contexts. The Head Start Research Based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) program was implemented in preschools on and near a Native American reservation with both indigenous and non-indigenous students and teachers. The REDI curriculum involved 5 subcomponents targeting children’s literacy skills and social-emotional development. Teachers were provided with inperson and on-line training and in-person implementation support from a REDI coach. Implementation fidelity included ratings of of curriculum dosage and child engagement, as well as coach ratings of teaching quality using a modified version of the Classroom Assessment Scoring Scale (CLASS). Teachers indicated which adaptations they made to the curriculum and the reasons for these adaptations. Teachers also completed qualitative, post-implementation interviews to obtain their impressions of REDI and the need for planned modifications in their context. Analyses included measures of implementation fidelity and qualitative evaluation of adaptations. Results indicated that teachers found the REDI program both feasible and helpful for their students. Suggestions for planned adaptations included more STEM activities and the freedom to choose the dialogic reading books. Many spontaneous adaptations were noted. Teachers indicated that pragmatic issues, such as lack of time, were the main reasons for adapting the program, and deletions and substitutions of curricular activities were the most common types of changes. Implementation of program subcomponents improved gradually over the course of the school year. Some subcomponents were more likely to be adapted than others.

Abstract P383: Factors That Improve Young Men Participation in Rural Research: Findings From the Mississippi Core of the Risks Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Study

Introduction: Challenges in engaging and recruiting rural communities into health research stem from known barriers such as decreased healthcare awareness, less access to health research, community context and low education. Within rural communities, the demographic that is the most challenging to recruit is men ages 25-44 years. However, there is little data on what factors improve participation among young men in rural areas. The purpose of our study was to explore the reasons for the reluctance of men ages 25-44 to participate in research and identify factors can encourage their willingness to participate in the NHLBI’s Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Study. Methods: In June 2022 and June 2023 respectively, the Mississippi (MS) Core of the RURAL Study conducted health fairs in Oktibbeha and Panola counties. Investigators used the health fairs as an opportunity to recruit participants for focus group interviews to explore questions related to men’s health awareness, health behaviors and likelihood to participate in the RURAL Study. Those recruited included community advisory board members and health fair attendees. One focus group in each county consisted of men only. Investigators conducted 4 virtual focus group interviews in each of the two counties. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes and sub-themes. Results: Thirty-two (32) interviewees, including 25 women. participated in focus groups across the two counties (17 Oktibbeha,15 Panola). Four key themes and 8 subthemes were identified. Lack of health awareness, fear of harm, inability to see the benefits of participation, and lack of incentives were among the reasons men ages 25-44 do not participate in research in these rural areas. Investigators learned that providing health education with reassurance of no harm, promoting the benefits of participation to themselves their families and communities, providing meaningful incentives, and motivating them through influences from family, friends and third parties can encourage participation by men in this age group. Particularly, it was suggested health awareness investigators should host events explicitly for men (including small group question and answer sessions) and be visible in the community by going where the young men go such as barbershops, sporting events, gyms, and men’s organizational meetings and by staying in touch. Conclusion: In this study consisting of 8 focus groups conducted across two rural communities, key themes identified to improve young male participation in health research include: 1) addressing perceived concerns through awareness and reassurance of no harm,2) informing potential candidates for the study the benefits of participation, 3) maintaining a presence in the community through community engagement and 4) identifying and social motivators such as family, friends and third-party influencers.

Supporting the Journey Home: The Process of Co-designing an Education Program to Strengthen Palliative Care Capacity in First Nations Communities

In Ontario, Canada, several training programs have been created to improve home-based palliative care in First Nations communities, though they primarily focus on meeting needs at end-of-life. Therefore, education focused on incorporating an early palliative care approach for community health-related workers is necessary. To address this gap, we tested the CAPACITI curriculum with 12 health care providers working in First Nations communities across Ontario, 11 of which were members of a First Nations community, and engaged them in a collaborative process to co-design an education program that they felt was representative of First Nations values and culture. The co-designers were trained as nurses (n=8), personal support workers (n=2), a social worker (n=1), and a physician (n=1). We met with them for 12 weekly one hour sessions. They completed a workbook of questions and recommendations to tailor the education to a First Nations community context. We incorporated these recommendations into the new education by reviewing existing material, making notes of suggested changes, and adding new content. We redesigned the education according to several themes: incorporating culture, recognizing First Nations health care workers and knowledge, and approaching education wholistically. The resulting program, Supporting the Journey Home: Growing the Community Bundle to Care for those with Serious Illness, gives First Nations health care providers practical resources to operationalize an early palliative care approach with community members. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the co-design process of an existing palliative care education program with First Nations health care providers.

The community background alters the evolution of thermal performance.

Microbes are key drivers of global biogeochemical cycles, and their functional roles arey dependent on temperature. Large population sizes and rapid turnover rates mean that the predominant response of microbes to environmental warming is likely to be evolutionary, yet our understanding of evolutionary responses to temperature change in microbial systems is rudimentary. Natural microbial communities are diverse assemblages of interacting taxa. However, most studies investigating the evolutionary response of bacteria to temperature change are focused on monocultures. Here, we utilize high-throughput experimental evolution of bacteria in both monoculture and community contexts along a thermal gradient to determine how interspecific interactions influence the thermal adaptation of community members. We found that community-evolved isolates tended toward higher maximum growth rates across the temperature gradient compared to their monoculture-evolved counterparts. We also saw little evidence of systematic evolutionary change in the shapes of bacterial thermal tolerance curves along the thermal gradient. However, the effect of community background and selection temperature on the evolution of thermal tolerance curves was variable and highly taxon-specific,with some taxa exhibiting pronounced changes in thermal tolerance while others were less impacted. We also found that temperature acted as a strong environmental filter, resulting in the local extinction of taxa along the thermal gradient, implying that temperature-driven ecological change was a key factor shaping the community background upon which evolutionary selection can operate. These findings offer novel insight into how community background impacts thermal adaptation.

Factors Influencing Electricity Consumption in Rural Households

Over time, several relationships have been defined between electricity consumption and a region’s social and economic variables, with income as the main factor. This paper uses multiple correspondence analysis to identify the categories of dwellings and, from a graphical point of view (positioning maps), the effects of the different characteristics that influence the electricity consumption of households in rural areas of Cundinamarca, Colombia. In this analysis, the consumption of residential users responded mainly to what they can afford or acquire based on their income, consumption habits, and the characteristics of the technology. Furthermore, this study highlights the implications of these findings for policymakers and energy providers, providing valuable insights for developing targeted strategies to promote energy efficiency and sustainability in rural areas. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of electricity consumption and highlights the importance of tailoring energy-related interventions to the specific socio-economic context of rural communities, in this case in Cundinamarca.

Arts and Crafts Management Model of Baan Huai Ta Community, Utttaradit Province

Purpose: The objectives of the present research on the arts and crafts management model of Baan Huai Ta community, Uttaradit province were to analyze the community arts and crafts management model; develop the community arts and crafts management model; and evaluate the community arts and crafts management model of Baan Huai Ta, Uttaradit Province. Theoretical Framework: This study employs the concept of local wisdom and product development and design. Design/Methodology/Approach: The procedures involved building a network, acquiring knowledge, developing a community arts and crafts management model, developing community arts and crafts, evaluating the community arts and crafts management model. A qualitative research was employed consisting of observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and participatory action. Findings: The analysis of community arts and crafts management model suggested the area-based potential of Baan Huai Ta with arts and crafts abilities including weaving, wickerwork, and wood carving. Her Majesty Queen Sirikit had graciously supported people in the community to receive career development trainings in arts and crafts intended to offer extra jobs for generating more income. Their products were delivered for distribution to the Bureau of the Royal Household and the Arts and Crafts Promotion Foundation. Research Practical and Social Implication: Evaluation results of community arts and crafts works were as follow: increased value at a highest level; design concept at a highest level; selection of raw materials at a highest level; production process at a highest level; quality and beauty at a highest level; increased value added at a very high level; creating identity at a very high level; and generating value added at a very high level. The arts and crafts management model of Baan Huai Ta community, Uttaradit province comprised 4 components namely: analysis of community context; analysis of community management//network building; development of arts and crafts; and evaluation of arts and crafts management model. Originality/Value: The development of community arts and crafts management models focused on the designs with applied local wisdom to provide community products. The design concept is based on the link of science and knowledge in coordination with applied local materials to develop community products with an aim to bring about value added, self-reliance, as well as group forming. This had led to the development of products consisting of 12 pieces of fabric art and craft products, 2 pieces of carving art and craft products, and 8 pieces of wickerwork arts and crafts products, totaling 22 products.

Changing Places: The Role of Household and Community Context in Long-Term Patterns of Recidivism

The period of reentering society after prison is a critical time in the life-course and presents numerous challenges. With whom and where individuals live can determine aspects of social support, as well as bonds and informal social control that may predict whether a person “succeeds” by abstaining from crime and avoiding technical violations of parole. We use detailed administrative data from a release cohort in Missouri to construct monthly variation in household and community context at two levels (neighborhood disadvantage and county-level rural-urban designation). We follow the local-life circumstances approach, decomposing changing context into within and between person variation (Horney et al., 1995). We find important selection effects but also intervention effects – with households including family as particularly beneficial. This work further highlights the needs for multiple measures of recidivism and a broadening of the geographic locales researchers and policymakers consider.

Morrison, Mambéty, and missing limbs: an Afrocentric reading of Sula, Hyenas, and Dürrenmatt’s The Visit

This essay analyzes common ground between Toni Morrison’s Sula, (1973) and the film Hyènes (Hyenas), directed in 1992 by the avant-garde Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambéty. Both Morrison’s and Mambéty’s works enter into an extended dialogue with the 1956 tragicomedy Der Besuch der alten Dame (The Visit), written by the Swiss-born playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990). By re-framing the sinister figure of Dürrenmatt’s Claire Zachanassian within the Africanist context of African American and Senegalese communities, Morrison and Mambéty challenge the limits of normative social roles for women—particularly mothers—while also probing the unsettling, permeable boundaries between the individual and that which lies outside the self. The essay concludes by drawing on Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject in order to chart these boundaries, and to better understand the abiding, cross-cultural fascination of the wealthy, violent, and vengeful Visitor, who returns home bearing poisoned gifts.

Innovation communities as catalysts for BIM adoption: a cross-case analysis of BIM communities in Norway and Vietnam

Purpose This paper aims to explore how open innovation communities contribute to the adoption of building information modelling (BIM) in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a cross-case analysis of two construction communities, buildingSMART Norway and the BIM Vietnam Community. Data were collected based on 21 semi-structured interviews conducted with industry experts actively engaged in these two communities. The theoretical basis for the study was open innovation and the institutional intervention model, which delineates institutional actions related to the adoption of new information technology. Findings The findings show both similarities and differences in the way in which the communities contribute to industrial practice. Both communities use similar knowledge channels and repositories but apply different approaches to innovation creation and diffusion. In addition, trust can support BIM innovation in the community context. Originality/value The comparison of buildingSMART Norway and the BIM Vietnam Community in accelerating BIM innovation allows for exploring how open innovation communities support BIM adoption in the construction industry. The findings provide insights for construction communities into creating and diffusing BIM innovation. In addition, the examples of gaining benefits from community innovation activities are useful for construction firms and practitioners.

Children’s, parents’ and educators’ understandings and experiences of digital resilience: A systematic review and meta-ethnography

Supporting children to be digitally resilient when facing online adversity is an increasingly important developmental task. However, conceptual knowledge underpinning digital resilience and how this operates among children and across their home, community and societal contexts is embryonic. A systematic review and meta-ethnography of research focusing on the understandings and experiences of digital resilience of children aged 8–12, their parents and educators identified 11 studies conducted since 2011 across 14 countries. Four main themes, ‘Using connective technologies’, ‘Risky online experiences’, ‘Mediation strategies’ (comprised of sub-themes ‘Proactive coping’ and ‘Reactive coping’), and ‘Risk and protective factors’ were constructed from our translation of first- and second-order constructs, with the overarching theme ‘ Constant balancing’ cross-cutting these themes. We argue one cannot have risky online experiences without the potential to develop digital resilience and vice versa. Insofar as current conceptualisations of digital resilience underestimate the role played by wider contexts, important knowledge gaps are highlighted.

Picturing broader socioeconomic conditions: introducing demographic data to participatory photo mapping in order to help youth understand community stratification

ABSTRACT Shaded polygons based on quantitative demographic indicators can represent place-based characteristics that influence perceptions of social phenomena. However, social scientists have struggled to integrate demographic methods with qualitative means of participatory research meaningfully. This is especially true in work with children, where concrete depictions of broader socioeconomic conditions can be challenging yet must be balanced with their research contributions. In working with this population, we encourage the introduction of demographic community indicators when integrating Photovoice (participant-generated imagery) and qualitative GIS methods. This integration simplifies an analytical challenge and allows youth to balance perspectives and quantify how social and economic features of place affect their perceptions of social phenomena. While the broader literature has focused on one-level designs to capture participant narratives and the overlapping of spatial data, integrating these concepts with youth researchers has not been addressed. As a methodological advancement in children’s research, we believe spatial participant-generated imagery (SPGI) improves upon participatory visual research methods by depicting how participant perceptions are situated in a community context. Through this research method, participants are empowered to triangulate their lived experiences with mixed-methods research. We illustrate this process through a case study of community belonging by youth.

Protect the Children, Body and Soul

This paper critically examines American schooling systems, challenges their subtractive nature, and juxtaposes it with the culturally sustaining potential of education. We problematize the current tools for evaluating trauma and stress in young people of color and emphasize the need for a comprehensive understanding of indigenous medicines as a remedy. Drawing on interdisciplinary theories, we elucidate the pervasive and evolving nature of anti-blackness, reinforcing the sociohistorical structure of inequity within schools. As a response, this study presents a unique wellness survey (comprising two newly validated wellness scales) developed from a previous four-year longitudinal study investigating the relationship between culturally relevant teaching practices and improved health outcomes for children. We found a strong correlation between exposure to our culturally relevant intervention and several health indicators. Particularly, sustained telomere growth (protection of cells) was observed in over 90% of the participants in the intervention group, indicating a potential biological mechanism through which culturally informed interventions might contribute to improved health outcomes. We use these findings to argue that proactive measures centered on cultural and community contexts can serve as crucial protective factors, thereby potentially mitigating negative health outcomes related to racialized stress.

The relationship between community social risk factors and regional hospital-reported cash, negotiated, and chargemaster prices for 14 common services

BackgroundSocial risk factors are key drivers of the geographic variation in spending in the United States but little is known how community-level social risk factors are associated with hospital prices. Our objective was to describe the relationship between regional hospital-reported prices and social risk factors by price type (chargemaster, cash, commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid).MethodsThis cross-sectional analysis used newly available hospital-reported prices from acute general hospitals in 2022. The prices were for 14 common services. Prices were winsorized at 98%, wage index-adjusted, standardized by service, and aggregated to hospital service areas (HSAs). For social risk, we used 23 measures across 5 domains of social risk (socioeconomic position; race, ethnicity, and culture; gender; social relationships; and residential and community context). Spearman’s correlation was used to estimate associations between median prices and social risk by price type.ResultsPrices were reported from 2,386 acute general hospitals in 45% (1,502 of 3,436) HSAs. Correlations between regional prices and other social risk factors varied by price type (range: -0.19 to 0.31). Chargemaster and cash prices were significantly correlated with the most community characteristics (10 of 23, 43%) followed by commercial prices (8, 35%). Medicare and Medicaid prices were only significantly correlated with 1 measure (all p < 0.01). All price types were significantly correlated with the percentage of uninsured (all p < 0.01). Chargemaster, cash, and commercial prices were positively correlated with percentage of Hispanic residents, residents with limited English proficiency, and non-citizens (all p < 0.05).ConclusionsWhile regional correlations between prices and social risk factors were weak across all prices, chargemaster, cash, and commercial prices were more like closely aligned with community-level social risk factors than the two public payers (Medicare and Medicaid). Chargemaster, cash, and commercial hospital prices appeared to be higher in socially disadvantaged communities. Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between prices and community social risk factors.

Increased community engagement of Indigenous Peoples in dementia research leads to higher context relevance of results.

Health research that focuses on Indigenous Peoples must ensure that the community in question is actively engaged, and that the results have context relevance for Indigenous Peoples. Context relevance is "the benefits, usability, and respectful conduct of research from the perspective of Indigenous communities." The purpose of this study was to apply two tools within an already-published scoping review of 76 articles featuring research on cognitive impairment and dementia among Indigenous Peoples worldwide. One tool assessed levels of community engagement reported in the corpus, and the other tool assessed the context relevance of recommendations in the corpus. We hypothesized that research with higher levels of reported community engagement would produce recommendations with greater context relevance for Indigenous Peoples. We employed semi-structured deductive coding using two novel tools assessing levels of reported community engagement and context relevance of recommendations based on studies included in the existing scoping review. Application of the two tools revealed a positive relationship between increasing community engagement and greater context relevance. Community engagement primarily occurred in studies conducted with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations in Canada and with Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Research with Alaska Native, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian Peoples in the USA stood out for its comparative lack of meaningful community engagement. There is opportunity to utilize these tools, and the results of this assessment, to enhance training and mentorship for researchers who work with Indigenous populations. There is a need to increase investigator capacity to involve communities throughout all phases of research, particularly in the pre-research stages.

The Transformative Capacity of Baltimore’s Community Schools: Limits and Possibilities in a Spatially Unjust Urban Context for Black Communities

Community schools are schools which recognize that children are apart of communities, and therefore, attempt to directly address the outside of school factors that impact student learning by offering services to students, their families, and the broader community through a variety of partnerships with governmental and community-based organizations. Based on empirical research, this paper argues that while the community schools provide a much-needed approach to educating students beyond their academic needs, the schools work within deeply-rooted racist systems and structures. Seen through the lens of racial capitalism, in particular, the work of community schools may be quite limited in what they can accomplish. Using census data from the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance (BNIA) combined with GIS mapping, this paper investigated the racially segregated contexts in which community schools operated in Baltimore. In so doing, the paper argues that the potential of community schools is circumscribed by the spatial injustice that the neighborhoods experience.

Adolescent Romance in Rural China: The Role of Gender and Parenting Practices

In China, parents, teachers, and society generally oppose adolescent romance, believing it impedes youth from academic success. However, research that investigates factors influencing one’s involvement in adolescent romance is scarce, especially among rural Chinese youth. Drawing upon 1,262 youth and their mothers in rural Gansu province, China, this study examined how gender and parenting practices in the family and community contexts influence adolescent romance among Chinese rural youth. In 2004, mothers completed questionnaires about warmth, parental punitiveness, community parenting, and parental networking. In 2009, the youth sample, of which the average age was 20 and of which 46% were females, reported their romantic histories retrospectively. The study showed that 6.89 percent of youth were involved in an adolescent romantic relationship. The results of the multilevel logistic regression model suggested that girls were less likely to engage in adolescent romance than boys. Higher parental punitiveness was associated with a lower likelihood of engaging in adolescent romance. However, with the increase in parental punitiveness, girls were more likely to initiate adolescent romance. Neither parental warmth, community parenting, nor parental networking had a significant relationship with the likelihood of engaging in adolescent romantic relationships. The findings provide a holistic and nuanced understanding of individual, family, and community factors influencing rural Chinese youth’s involvement in adolescent romance.