Digital Commons Network^™

Improving The Public’S Health Through Sustained, Multidisciplinary Academic And Community Partnerships: The Msm Model, Desiree A. Rivers Phd, Carla Durham Walker Ma, Ashley K. Mitchell Drph, Msph, Shirleta Lawrence, Carey Roth Bayer Edd, Med, Bsn, Rn, Cse

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: To meet the growing needs of communities with increased chronic conditions, decreased access to health services, and a changing sociocultural environment, there is a critical need for community-oriented physicians equipped with the skills to attend to the health of underserved populations. The Morehouse School of Medicine Community Health Course’s (CHC) purpose is to inculcate service-learning and public health techniques to equip community-oriented physicians with empathy and tools to effectively engage diverse communities and provide care that addresses the social determinants of health to achieve health equity. The purpose of this practice note is to discuss CHC multidisciplinary strategies used …

Lessons Learned In The Early Stages Of A Community-Academic Partnership To Address Health Disparities In A Rural Community, Tiffany R. Washington, Brian M. Rivers, L. Sherrié Raleigh, Natalie D. Hernandez, Mindy Le, A. Keith Green, Jeffery Lawrence, Henry N. Young

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

In rural Georgia, African American men are burdened by chronic health diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Community-academic partnerships that leverage community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles can facilitate the adaptation and translation of multilevel programs to address chronic disease prevention and management in rural areas. The objective of this study was to explore key components of the CBPR process that bolstered the early stages of a partnership established between rural-residing community leaders and academic partners in Georgia. Qualitative methodology was used to collect and assess data regarding the initial engagement between the community and academic partners. Findings indicate …

Community Preparedness: Expanding Existing Partnerships With Academia To Build Resilience Through Experiential Learning, Nina Cleveland, Mark Palen

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Sustainability and mitigation in preparedness after grant money is gone has suddenly become a hot topic in the public health emergency preparedness world. By the same token, funding provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for individual preparedness initiatives has not had the desired mitigation impacts. The question becomes, are there alternative approaches that reach more individuals to build a culture of preparedness in communities? One solution involves the leveraging of academic and regional public health partnerships with their Medical Reserve Corps Units (MRC), to train college students in individual preparedness. The purpose of this study is to …

Assessment Of The Building Collaborative Research Capacity Model: Bridging The Community-Academic Researcher Divide, Tabia Henry Akintobi, Donoria Evans Wilkerson, Kirsten Rodgers, Cam Escoffery, Regine Haardörfer, Michelle Kegler

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Community–based Participatory Research (CBPR) can be challenging when community leaders and academic researchers have not previously co-led research or worked together with established rules guiding their relationships, roles, and respective functions. The objective of this investigation was to assess the processes and outcomes of the Building Collaborative Research Capacity Grant Program, sponsored by the Community Engagement Research Program of The Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute and designed to foster CBPR.

Methods: Four competitively selected community-based organizations (CBOs) participated in capacity-building workshops designed to build research skills and receive technical assistance to plan a pilot study with academic researchers. …

Adapting A Physical Activity Intervention For Youth In A Rural Area: A Case Study, Moya L. Alfonso, Gavin Golquitt, Ashley Walker, Akrati Gupta

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Physical activity offers children and youth many well-documented positive effects on health. The present study adapted a community-based prevention marketing campaign (CBPM), VERBTM Summer Scorecard (VSS) to promote physical activity among minority youth in rural, southeast Georgia. The purpose of this paper is to describe the adaptation process, emphasizing methods used and lessons learned.

Methods: A qualitative study design was used to identify social marketing concepts that informed program adaptation, including two focus groups with 12 children and two focus groups with 14 parents. Qualitative thematic data analysis was used to analyze formative research. The adapted program was implemented …

Georgia’S Rural Hospital Closures: The Common-Good Approach To Ethical Decision-Making, Randi G. Bastian, Marcus Garner, John S. Barron, Emmanuel A. Akowuah, William A. Mase

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Critical access hospitals provide several essential services to local communities. Along with the functions associated with providing necessary medical care, they also offer employment opportunities and other economic benefits to the communities they serve. Since 2010, the number of rural hospitals closures has steadily increased. The common-good approach to ethical decision-making provides a framework that aids in evaluation of the effects that hospital closures have on rural residents and communities.

Methods: This analysis includes results of a systematic overview of peer-reviewed literature to address the following research questions: 1) How have state policies and the adoption of Medicaid expansion …

Context Matters: A Community-Based Study Of Urban Minority Parents’ Views On Child Health, Cassandra L. Bolar, Natalie Hernandez, Tabia Henry Akintobi, Calvin Mcallister, Aneeqah S. Ferguson, Latrice Rollins, Glenda Wrenn, Martha Okafor, David Collins, Thomas Clem

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Among children, there are substantial ethno-racial minority disparities across a broad range of health-related behaviors, experiences, and outcomes. Addressing these disparities is important, as childhood and adolescence establish health trajectories that extend throughout life.

Methods: The current study employed a community-based participatory research approach to gain community insight on child health priorities and to frame an intervention aimed at improving the health of minority children. Eight focus groups were conducted among seventy-five African American parents in a Southeastern city. The current study was guided by an ecological theoretical framework.

Results: Although the focus of this investigation was on community …