Innovative Outreach Research Articles

Can Private Companies Contribute To Public Programs’ Outreach Efforts? Evidence From California

We studied an innovative outreach effort in California, which trains and certifies community organizations to help complete Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) applications. In this paper we provide a detailed description of participating organizations, the populations they serve, and their success at turning submitted applications into enrollments. We found that insurance brokers and income tax preparers-for-profit groups that are not typically associated with outreach-make important contributions to Medicaid and SCHIP in California. Brokers, in particular, help serve a hard-to-reach population: those on the higher end of the income eligibility thresholds.

Desert Survivors: the design and implementation of a television program to enhance local scientific literacy

Outreach efforts by faculty members are oftentimes limited in scope due to hectic schedules. We developed a program to enhance science literacy in elementary school children that allows experts to reach a tremendous audience while minimizing their time commitment. The foundation of the program is a television series entitled "Desert Survivors." The episodes air on local cable access television and are available to teachers on DVD. Each episode features a guest expert who spotlights a particular organism and how that organism overcomes the myriad of hardships inherent to desert survival. Local classrooms are visited to solicit questions from students regarding the organism of interest. These videotaped questions are integrated into Desert Survivors television production and provide the guest expert with the basis to discuss the ecology, physiology, and evolutionary biology of the organism. The program is bolstered through the use of an interactive website. Assessment strategies are in place to ensure program efficacy. Herein, we describe the development of the program as a model for innovative outreach opportunities.

Accessing Care for U.S./Mexico Border Populations Living with HIV/AIDS

The Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) provides health-care to underserved areas in the U.S. and addresses disparities in health-care among U.S. populations. HRSA's Ryan White CARE Act provides HIV care and supportive services for persons with HIV and AIDS in the U.S. and its territories. Five projects were funded as Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) from 2001–2005, to improve care and access to HIV services along the U.S.-Mexican Border. These projects developed culturally appropriate and innovative outreach strategies, expanded counseling and testing in border communities, assured continuity of care through intensive case management services and increased clinical capacity through provider training.

Empowering Indigenous Families who have Children with Disabilities: An Innovative Outreach Model

Socially and legally it is acknowledged that families with children with disabilities are a critical component of any educational program or Individualized Education Plan (Yell, 2002). Indigenous families with children who have disabilities face unique additional challenges in working collaboratively with schools and education professionals. Parent Training and Information Centers started as a result of federally funded research on the needs of families of children with disabilities. The unique challenges faced by Indigenous families with children who have disabilities are discussed, with particular attention to the critical issues impacting social equity and post secondary education outcomes. An innovative outreach model is discussed for its potential in meeting the needs of Indigenous families with children who have disabilities. Components of the model are described as well as the continuing outreach challenges. The authors conclude with directions for future outreach strategies and research with Indigenous families and communities.

Bringing information literacy to career services

PurposeThe purpose and the importance of information literacy initiatives continue to gain recognition outside the walls of libraries. The success of these initiatives depends largely on their integration into institutional curricula. Librarian outreach to faculty and academic departments is instrumental for successful integration. Student services divisions, however, are often overlooked as areas in need of librarian outreach and information literacy instruction. This paper will show how innovative outreach activities have helped to forge a partnership between the University at Buffalo Libraries and the University's Career Services Office.Design/methodology/approachA review of the literature reveals how instruction librarians have employed outreach activities to integrate information literacy into the curricula of biology, business, chemistry, psychology, and many other academic disciplines. Examples of integrating information literacy into academic programs are also in evidence.FindingsThe aforementioned partnership benefits university students, librarians, and career services personnel.Originality/valueIntegrated library instruction, information literacy workshops, collaborative collection development, and librarian reference hours in the career services office are among the positive outcomes of the study.

The Health Bus: Healthcare for Marginalized Populations

The Health Bus, an innovative outreach program, serves the marginalized population of a large Canadian city. In this article, a needs assessment/evaluation study of its services is discussed. Barriers to mainstream healthcare and solutions are examined. This study was qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory and surveyed 58 client volunteers of the program through semistructured interviews and focus groups. Thematic analysis of data was carried out. The Health Bus was found to provide basic healthcare and supplies effectively. Clients value respectful treatment, competency of healthcare professionals, and accessibility, whereas disrespectful treatments and lack of transportation are barriers to mainstream healthcare. A conclusion of this study is that Health Bus services should be expanded with clients' input. Mainstream institutions need flexibility and a change in attitudes toward the marginalized.

"COMMITTING TO PLACE" AND EVALUATING THE HIGHER PURPOSE: INCREASING ENGAGEMENT IN NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT THROUGH MUSEUM OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

The Australian "Committing to Place" Research Project investigates the potential of outreach activities and educational programmes to increase community commitment to natural resource management. New communication technologies offer tools for enhancing participation — in terms of a deeper commitment from communities and participation of a wider range of groups — through their interactive qualities and capacity to link people in different places. The research project evaluates the piloting, by the National Museum of Australia, of several innovative outreach activities which use information and communication technologies specifically for community capacity building and developing platforms for change. With an understanding of evaluation as research to inform decision-making at all phases of project design, the Research Team is evaluating: (1) the effectiveness of each outreach activity in meeting stakeholder objectives, including community participants; (2) the potential each activity has to increase participation in the activity and other activities associated with cultural heritage or natural resources; and (3) progress towards "the higher purpose", that is, the potential for such activities to affect natural resource management outcomes in the long run. The research project is an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant involving the University of Tasmania, the National Museum of Australia, and the Murray–Darling Basin Commission.

Connecting Students of the Present, Past, and Future: An Activist Approach to the Collection and Use of Student Documents in the University Archives

ABSTRACT Student documents, including scrapbooks, diaries, and student organization records, are invaluable resources for the study of higher education, reform movements, and intellectual and social trends. Not only do they provide fodder for scholarship and classroom instruction, these materials serve the multi-faceted research needs of administrators, alumni, and the community. In order to document student experience fully, it is essential that archivists and librarians institute an innovative outreach program that underlines the importance of maintaining and utilizing student related documents, and in the process actively engages students, faculty, administrators, and alumni in the archives' program.

Caregivers and Professionals Partnership

Summary This article describes the Caregivers and Professionals Partnership (CAPP), a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary, replicable program model to strengthen and sustain the Mount Sinai Medical Center's responsiveness to the role and needs of family caregivers of adults. CAPP's three major programmatic components are: (1) the CAPP Care-giver Resource Center, (2) an Educational Program for caregivers and staff and (3) a Performance Improvement initiative. CAPP employs innovative outreach strategies to family caregivers of adults, including to monolingual Spanish-speaking caregivers. The CAPP “partnership” model, in which health care professionals and caregivers jointly participate in various dimensions of the program's development and implementation, is described in the context of building hospital based institutional support to meet family caregivers' complex needs.

Some Innovative Education and Outreach Projects in India for Earthquake Risk Reduction

The Indian earthquake problem is well known. About 60% of India's land area is considered prone to shaking of Modified Mercalli intensity VII and above (IS:1893-2002). In fact, the entire Himalayan belt is considered prone to great earthquakes of magnitude exceeding 8.0, and in a span of 53 years, four such earthquakes occurred: 1897 Assam, 1905 Kangra, 1934 Bihar-Nepal, and 1950 Assam-Tibet (Table 1). As seen in Table 1, there have not been any M > 8.0 earthquakes in India since 1950. However, a very large number of deaths occurred in the M 6.4 Latur (1993) and the M 7.7 Bhuj (2001) earthquakes. Of these, the Latur earthquake occurred in an area considered aseismic and placed in the lowest seismic zone (zone I; prone to intensity of shaking V or less on the MM scale) at that time (IS:1893-1984). These examples clearly underline the huge earthquake risk that most parts of the country face. View this table: TABLE 1 Significant Past Earthquakes in India Earthquake engineering developments started rather early in India. For instance, development of the first seismic zone map and of earthquake-resistant features for masonry buildings took place in the 1930's, and formal teaching and research in earthquake engineering started in the late 1950's (Jain and Nigam, 2000; Jain, 2002). Yet not enough progress could be made toward earthquake risk reduction due to a variety of reasons, including those associated with a typical developing economy ( e.g., relatively poor implementation at all levels; priority to provide basic amenities such as food, shelter, and medical care to a huge population). Over the years, no serious efforts were made to involve professional engineers in the agenda of seismic safety. As a result, the professional engineers in the country started looking at earthquake engineering as a superspecialty to be tackled by academics and experts. Moreover, …

Education and Outreach Based on Data from the Anza Seismic Network in Southern California

Innovative and exceptional education and outreach services often require collaborative efforts from diverse members of the scientific community, educators, emergency response personnel, and the media. This collaboration is essential when large earthquakes occur in highly populated regions where detailed and accurate information is required immediately to assure the safety of the general public. To streamline these interactions the Anza group has taken the following steps: (1) When we respond to large earthquakes globally, or smaller earthquakes locally, we collaborate with other research institutions, such as SCEC and the IRIS-DMC, to provide information quickly and effectively to the general public and emergency response personnel. (2) In the event of a major earthquake within our area of responsibility we provide data to other researchers as needed and collect data from them to support our efforts. (3) The Anza group makes a special effort to meet the needs of the local educational community through cooperation in the development and maintenance of educational modules. While our raw data are readily available, some end users prefer additional assistance in data manipulation and interpretation. We frequently provide our services to assist others in specialized uses of our data. These efforts include the incorporation of real-time seismic displays in museum settings (see later in this paper). Through these efforts, the Anza group extends the value of the Anza seismic data to include broadening the common seismological knowledge of San Diego residents and visitors. (4) We have held planning sessions with the local utilities companies ( e.g., SDG&E) to understand their needs better in the event of a large earthquake in southern California. (5) We have routinely dealt with the media in response to relatively small earthquakes in our region and expect that these interactions have prepared us to respond quickly and efficiently to more dire situations. (6) We …

Risk Factors for Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection in a California Collegiate Population

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in college students has not undergone a detailed large-scale evaluation. The authors undertook a cross-sectional study of 4,086 students enrolled on the campuses of California State University, Sacramento, and 3 local community colleges from fall 2000 through spring 2002. They used an outreach screening model to determine the presence of infection by testing urine for chlamydial DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Participants completed demographic and behavioral risk questionnaires and a chlamydia knowledge assessment. Overall, 3.4% of participants tested positive for infection. Screening of male and female students was evenly distributed and incidence rates for males (3.03%) and females (3.78%) were similar. Variables associated with significantly increased risk were younger than 25 years, ethnicity other than White, more than one sexual partner in the preceding year or a new partner in the preceding 2 months, and current symptoms. Innovative outreach programs to screen a majority of at-risk college students should be developed.

Cancer prevention in underserved African American communities: barriers and effective strategies--a review of the literature.

African Americans suffer significantly more cancer morbidity and mortality than the white population. In order to decrease this differential, it is critical to understand the particular barriers to health and health care that underserved African Americans face. It is also important to identify the critical components of effective cancer prevention programs for this population. The barriers that impede care for underserved African Americans have been identified as: 1) inadequate access to and availability of health care services; 2) competing priorities; 3) lack of knowledge of cancer prevention and screening recommendations; 4) culturally inappropriate or insensitive cancer control materials; 5) low literacy; 6) mistrust of the health care system; and 7) fear and fatalism. Effective programs must incorporate community participation, innovative outreach, use of social networks and trusted social institutions, cultural competence, and a sustained approach. Programs that include these strategies are much more likely to be effective in reducing cancer incidence. Cancer ranks second only to cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death in the United States. For the majority population, cancer incidence and prevalence have declined in recent years and cure rates for certain cancer diagnoses have improved. This can be attributed to progress in the development and implementation of prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies. However, despite these gains, medically underserved African American populations have not fared as well. When African American-white mortality rates are compared, African Americans are 1.3 times more likely to die of cancer than the general population. Data from the Bureau of Health Information, Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services indicate that from 1996 to 2000, cancer accounted for 33% of deaths in African Americans aged 45-64 and 34% of deaths for those aged 65-74. To decrease the disparities in cancer morbidity and mortality between the African American and white population, it is critical to understand the particular barriers to health and health care that African Americans face. This paper is a literature review of the barriers that low-income African American populations confront in obtaining needed cancer prevention and detection and the characteristics of programs that have been effective in reaching these populations.

Teachers and `Street Children': On Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics

The phenomenon of `street children' where youngpeople, for various reasons, live on thestreets of towns and cities is found all overthe world in varying degrees and forms. InSouth Africa, one approach to take care aboutthe plight of these children has been to set upand run what are referred to as `streetshelters'. One such street shelter, the onlyone exclusively for girls in the city ofDurban, is Tennyson House. In this paper Idescribe an innovative outreach programmeintegrated with a university curriculum inwhich a group of pre-service teachers takingmathematics education as a major were involvedin teaching mathematics to girls at TennysonHouse. From the vantage point of a mathematicsteacher educator in the programme, I describeand reflect on what was experienced and learnedfrom the intervention in terms of threeaspects: learning about learners; learningabout teaching (mathematics) and learning aboutrelationships.

University of Central Florida Librarians on Location

Librarians on Location is an innovative project implemented at the University of Central Florida and is designed to move reference service out of the library to meet the needs of students. At two campus locations outside of the library, librarians use a wireless laptop to provide reference service and demonstrate library resources. The intent is to proactively meet the information needs of those students and faculty who might otherwise remain unaware of the extensive resources provided by the library. The nature of the project also addresses differing information-seeking styles in an informal setting. Because of the location in different buildings on campus, the project enhances the library's visibility to faculty, administrators, and students. Librarians on Location is one part of an ongoing and innovative outreach program at the University of Central Florida Library.

The Australian Master Tree Grower Program

The Department of Forestry at The University of Melbourne with the financial support of the Myer Foundation, the RIRDC/LWRRDC/FWPRDC Joint Venture Agroforestry Program (JVAP) and the National Farm Forestry Program (AFFA) have developed and are delivering a unique and innovative participatory outreach and extension program for farmers active in revegetation, farm forestry and remnant forest management. Since the first program in 1996, 25 regional Australian Master Tree Grower (MTG) programs have been conducted involving more than 500 landholders across Australia.By acknowledging and drawing on the commitment and experience of locally selected tree growers, the MTG program aims to instil confidence through knowledge, provide farmers with a support network and encourage them to truly aspire to be ‘master tree growers’ in their own right. By starting with the landholders' motivations, rather than ending with them, the program allows participants to investigate and farm forestry projects. This is leading to the full potential of multipurpose tree growing to be realised for economic, social and environmental outcomes for farmers and their rural communities.

An innovative outreach service for people with severe personality disorders: Patient characteristics and clinical activities

This paper presents descriptive quantitative data on the first 12 months of operation of an innovative outreach service for people with severe personality disorders (SPD). Between November 1995 and November 1996, 156 patients were referred to the service for outpatient treatment, inpatient preparatory work, post-inpatient follow-up and advice on management. The psychological and psychiatric characteristics of these patients are described using a range of standardized self-report scales. Scores indicate high levels of personality disorders, especially borderline personality disorder and associated behavioural and social problems. The various clinical activities of the service are described. These include the provision of individual and group psychotherapies, referrals for specialist inpatient admission and the provision of specialist advice on management to local referrers. Evidence suggests that the service is successfully achieving its aims in providing a specialist community service for people with SPD, but that current resourcing levels limit its ability to respond fully to service demands.

Lessons Learned About Adolescent Nutrition from the Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey

In 1986–1987, more than 30,000 adolescents completed the Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey, a comprehensive assessment of adolescent health status, health behaviors, and psychosocial factors. Although the survey included relatively few items on nutrition-related issues, a wealth of knowledge about adolescent nutrition was gained. Lessons learned from a decade of subsequent analyses of data collected in the survey and implications for working with youth are summarized in this article. Major concerns identified included high prevalence rates of inadequate intake of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products; unhealthful weight-control practices; and overweight status. For example, inadequate fruit intake was reported by 28% of the adolescents and inadequate vegetable intake was reported by 36%. Among female adolescents, 12% reported chronic dieting, 30% reported binge eating, 12% reported self-induced vomiting, and 2% reported using diuretics or laxatives. Some of the risk factors for inadequate food intake patterns or unhealthful weight-control practices included low socioeconomic status, minority status, chronic illness, poor school achievement, low family connectedness, weight dissatisfaction, overweight, homosexual orientation among male adolescents, and use of health-compromising behaviors. To improve adolescent eating behaviors, the results suggest a need for innovative outreach strategies that include educational and environmental approaches. Dietitians play a key role in developing interventions and promoting research in the field of adolescent nutrition. J Am Diet Assoc. 1998;98:1449–1456.

Community Reintegration for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury Living in Rural America

Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), physical, transportation, information, and health care barriers continue to impede full community reintegration for rural-living persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Lack of a health care policy that recognizes the unique needs of rural populations is particularly problematic. Innovative enterprises, such as AgrAbility, telehealth, and collaborative programs with independent living centers are few but show promise for overcoming obstacles to community reintegration and full participation among people with SCI in rural areas. Rehabilitation professionals can facilitate this process by participating in advocacy efforts, collaborating with state surveillance systems, developing innovative outreach models, and participating in research to identify and remove barriers to community reintegration.

A case study in innovative outreach--combining training, research, and technology transfer to address real-world problems.

Outreach, training, technology transfer, and research are often treated as programmatically distinct activities. The interdisciplinary and applied aspects of the Superfund Basic Research Program offer an opportunity to explore different models. A case study is presented that describes a collaborative outreach effort that combines all of the above. It involves the University of California's Davis and Berkeley program projects, the University of California Systemwide Toxic Substances Research and Teaching Program, the U.S. Navy's civilian workforce at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California (MINSY), a Department of Defense (DoD) Environmental Education Demonstration Grant program, and the Private Industry Council of Napa and Sonoma counties in California. The effort applied a Superfund-developed technology to a combined waste, radium and polychlorinated biphenyl contamination, stemming from a problematic removal action at an installation/restoration site at MINSY. The effort demonstrates that opportunities for similar collaborations are possible at DoD installations.