Teams of Community Health Workers and Nursing Students Effect Health Promotion of Underserved Urban Neighborhoods

Capturing men's perspectives on prevalence, existing resources, and solutions to depression and anxiety using community-based participatory research and focus groups

OBJECTIVE

Men are predisposed to suffer from unaddressed depression and anxiety. The purpose of this study was to capture the perceptions of men in three urban, racially/ethnically diverse, under-resourced, and impoverished neighborhoods around this health issue. The results were used to design a resident-driven solution to this health disparity.

DESIGN

Design This study utilized a focus group method within the ideological perspective of community-based participatory research (CBPR).

SAMPLE

Sample The researchers recruited 50 Black, Hispanic, and White men aged 23-83 years to participate in this study during the summer of 2021.

MEASUREMENTS

Measurements Data were collected via six homogeneous, Zoom-based focus groups. Five of the focus groups were offered in English and the sixth in Spanish.

RESULTS

The men identified themes and subthemes pertaining to the perception of widespread depression and anxiety in their neighborhoods, existing typical and atypical community resources, and suggested solutions to this health disparity. These results were translated into a solution involving the training of five male, lay mental health ambassadors.

CONCLUSIONS

Policies and solutions to issues of mental health disparity must be informed by the communities that they intend to serve. CBPR is a robust vehicle for empowering communities to address the healthcare issues facing them.

"It has to be designed in a way that really challenges people's assumptions": preparing scholars to build equitable community research partnerships

Introduction:

Clinical and Translational Award (CTSA) programs are developing relevant training for researchers and community stakeholders participating in community-engaged research (CEnR). However, there is limited research exploring the ways community stakeholders and partners with key CEnR experiences can inform and shape training priorities for prospective CEnR scholars to build meaningful and equitable partnerships.

Methods:

This study conducted and analyzed online individual semi-structured in-depth interviews with community stakeholders (n = 13) engaged in CEnR to identify training priorities for graduate students and emerging scholars.

Findings:

Thematic analysis of 13 interview transcripts revealed four major training priorities for prospective scholars interested in engaging in CEnR: 1) researcher’s positionality, 2) equitable power sharing, 3) funding, and 4) ethics.

Conclusion:

Building equitable research partnerships was a central theme woven across all four training priorities. Further research should focus on examining the development, implementation, and evaluation of CEnR training in partnership with community stakeholders and partners with relevant CEnR experience. Adopting a collaborative approach to incorporate both community stakeholders and researchers’ priorities can align training competencies to better prepare scholars to engage in building research partnerships.

Strategies to promote and sustain baccalaureate students' interest in pursuing a PhD degree in nursing

PhD-prepared nurses are integral to the delivery of cost-effective, safe, and high-quality care to the increasingly diverse population in the U.S. Nurses with a PhD are needed to develop knowledge that informs and directs nursing care, promote positive health outcomes, and train the next generation of nurses and nurse scientists. Unfortunately, less than 1% of nurses have their PhD in nursing and there is an ongoing shortage of nurses in the U.S. that has not been effectively addressed. The PhD in nursing pipeline needs to be bolstered to address the escalating nursing shortage. This is especially important considering the importance of having an adequate number of well-prepared nurses to address the increasing complexities of health conditions and patient populations in the U.S. This paper presents strategies to promote and sustain interest in PhD in nursing among baccalaureate nursing students and discusses the importance of meaningful engagement in research and engaged faculty mentorship. It is important to incorporate research into undergraduate experiences, promote engaged mentorship during undergraduate level and beyond, and provide a conducive environment for undergraduate students to address their fears, misconceptions, and myths about PhD in nursing.

Assessing cancer center researcher and provider perspectives on patient engagement

Participatory research approaches can help ensure research is culturally relevant and aligned with stakeholder priorities, but barriers exist between researchers and community stakeholders, particularly in communities of color. We developed a measurement tool for assessing oncology researcher and provider readiness to undertake patient-engaged research, and piloted this measurement tool among oncology researchers and providers at the hospital's cancer care center. A survey was developed by drawing from existing PCORI assessments as well as creating original questions, in an effort to develop an evidence-based survey tailored to this project. A total of 23 researchers and providers responded to the survey. The majority of respondents indicated that they were moderately or very familiar with the concept of patient-centered outcomes research. Most respondents had little to no experience engaging in participatory research and endorsed several barriers to engaging patients in the research process, including lack of experience and time. A mechanism for preparing and supporting researchers and providers is needed if cancer centers are to implement patient-powered research agendas as recommended by PCORI.

Women supporting women: Supportive/educative groups for ethnically diverse, urban, impoverished women dealing with depression and anxiety

Depression and anxiety are mental health issues that disproportionately affect urban, ethnically diverse, impoverished women. Using community based participatory research and in the context of long-term partnerships between a nursing department and underserved neighborhoods that are predominately Black, Hispanic, and White respectively, supportive/educative groups were offered. The study employed a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent comparison group pretest-posttest design. Seventy-two women aged 17-88 years participated. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant increase in knowledge for self-care for depression and anxiety and a significant decrease in anxiety and depression symptomatology from before to after the group sessions.

Estratégias de ensino em enfermagem para colaborar e trabalhar em equipe: revisão integrativa da literatura

RESUMO Objetivo Identificar na literatura de Enfermagem, publicada entre 2010-2014, as estratégias de ensino aplicadas pelos docentes na promoção da capacidade de colaboração e de trabalho em equipe no estudante de Enfermagem. Métodos A revisão integrativa da literatura permitiu a seleção dos estudos empíricos publicados em Enfermagem, entre janeiro de 2010 e dezembro de 2014. A pesquisa decorreu em abril de 2015, recorrendo à plataforma EBSCOhost para pesquisa nas bases de dados CINAHL® Plus with Full text, Nursing & Allied Health Collection, Cochrane Collection, MedicLatina e MEDLINE with Full text, Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete. Resultados Obtiveram-se 18 estudos empíricos. Abordagens acadêmicas baseadas em simulações de alta e baixa fidelidade, “role play”, trabalhos de grupo, debates reflexivos e estágios clínicos foram estratégias empregadas. Conclusões Salienta-se a necessidade de instrumentos que possam ser usados na avaliação da competência de colaborar e trabalhar em equipe nos estudantes do primeiro ciclo de Enfermagem.

Impact of Integrating Community-Based Participatory Research Into a Baccalaureate Nursing Curriculum

BACKGROUND

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is rapidly gaining respect within the health care community as a means to promote public health and address health disparities. It has also recently been named as one of the competencies needed by public health professionals to be effective.

METHOD

This article describes an educational innovation where CBPR is integrated into a baccalaureate nursing curriculum as a strategy to create meaningful learning experiences for nursing students while benefitting the health of the community.

RESULTS

The impact of this approach was analyzed over a period of 12 years. The positive outcomes for the community, students, and faculty are described, along with the unique challenges.

CONCLUSION

Integrating CBPR into a nursing curriculum is an innovation that is worthy of further assessment.

Neighborhood: A Conceptual Analysis

Researchers interested in measuring neighborhood-level effects should understand how "neighborhood" is defined within nursing sciences and other sciences, and the inherent strengths and weaknesses of current research methodologies. This concept analysis provides clarity around the concept of neighborhood within the context of health, analyzes the current state of development of the neighborhood concept, and proposes areas for future nursing research. Using the Rodger's Method of analysis, the concept of neighborhood within nursing and public health research is described based on existing literature. The concept's attributes, related concepts, antecedents, and consequences are given from the literature. Comparisons of the use of neighborhood are made between nursing, public health, sociology, and other sciences. The evolution of the concept of neighborhood throughout history is described, and important implications for future research are discussed.

Conducting Research With Community Groups

Nurse scientists are increasingly recognizing the necessity of conducting research with community groups to effectively address complex health problems and successfully translate scientific advancements into the community. Although several barriers to conducting research with community groups exist, community-based participatory research (CBPR) has the potential to mitigate these barriers. CBPR has been employed in programs of research that respond in culturally sensitive ways to identify community needs and thereby address current health disparities. This article presents case studies that demonstrate how CBPR principles guided the development of (a) a healthy body weight program for urban, underserved African American women; (b) a reproductive health educational intervention for urban, low-income, underserved, ethnically diverse women; and (c) a pilot anxiety/depression intervention for urban, low-income, underserved, ethnically diverse women. These case studies illustrate the potential of CBPR as an orientation to research that can be employed effectively in non-research-intensive academic environments.

Attending to Communication and Patterns of Interaction: Culturally Sensitive Mental Health Care for Groups of Urban, Ethnically Diverse, Impoverished, and Underserved Women

BACKGROUND

The United States is ethnically diverse. This diversity presents challenges to nurses, who, without empirical evidence to design culturally congruent interventions, may contribute to mental health care disparities.

OBJECTIVE

Using Leininger's theory of culture care diversity and universality, this study documented communication and interaction patterns of ethnically diverse, urban, impoverished, and underserved women.

DESIGN

Using a community-based participatory research framework, 61 Black, Hispanic, and White women participated in focus groups around their experiences with anxiety/depression. Researchers recorded verbal communication, nonverbal behavior, and patterns of interaction.

RESULTS

The women's communication and interaction patterns gave evidence of three themes that were evident across all focus groups and five subthemes that emerged along ethnic lines.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest cultural universalities and cultural uniquenesses relative to the communication and interaction patterns of urban, ethnically diverse, impoverished, and underserved women that may assist in the design of culturally sensitive mental health care.

Using community-based participatory research to explore social determinants of women's mental health and barriers to help-seeking in three urban, ethnically diverse, impoverished, and underserved communities

Depression and anxiety are significant mental health issues that affect urban, ethnically diverse, impoverished women disproportionately. This study sought to identify social determinants of mental health and barriers to help-seeking for this population. Using community based participatory research and focus groups, sixty-one Black, Hispanic, and White women identified economic, family, cultural, and neighborhood issues as perceived determinants of their depression/anxiety. They identified practical, psychosocial, and cultural barriers to their help-seeking behavior. These results can promote women's health by fostering an understanding of social factors as perceived determinants of depression/anxiety and shaping practice and policy initiatives that foster positive aggregate outcomes.