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Zgierska AE, Gramly T, Prestayko N, Symons Downs D, Murray TM, Yerby LG, Howell B, Stahlman B, Cruz J, Agolli A, Horan H, Hilliard F, Croff JM. Transportation, childcare, lodging, and meals: Key for participant engagement and inclusion of historically underrepresented populations in the healthy brain and child development birth cohort. J Clin Transl Sci 2024; 8:e38. [PMID: 38476249 PMCID: PMC10928703 DOI: 10.1017/cts.2024.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Participant recruitment and retention (R&R) are well-documented challenges in longitudinal studies, especially those involving populations historically underrepresented in research and vulnerable groups (e.g., pregnant people or young children and their families), as is the focus of the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) birth cohort study. Subpar access to transportation, overnight lodging, childcare, or meals can compromise R&R; yet, guidance on how to overcome these "logistical barriers" is sparse. This study's goal was to learn about the HBCD sites' plans and develop best practice recommendations for the HBCD consortium for addressing these logistical barriers. Methods The HBCD's workgroups developed a survey asking the HBCD sites about their plans for supporting research-related transportation, lodging, childcare, and meals, and about the presence of institutional policies to guide their approach. Descriptive statistics described the quantitative survey data. Qualitative survey responses were brief, not warranting formal qualitative analysis; their content was summarized. Results Twenty-eight respondents, representing unique recruitment locations across the U.S., completed the survey. The results indicated substantial heterogeneity across the respondents in their approach toward supporting research-related transportation, lodging, childcare, and meals. Three respondents were aware of institutional policies guiding research-related transportation (10.7%) or childcare (10.7%). Conclusions This study highlighted heterogeneity in approaches and scarcity of institutional policies regarding research-related transportation, lodging, childcare, and meals, underscoring the need for guidance in this area to ensure equitable support of participant R&R across different settings and populations, so that participants are representative of the larger community, and increase research result validity and generalizability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra E. Zgierska
- Departments of Family and Community Medicine, Anesthesiology and
Perioperative Medicine, and Public Health Sciences, Pennsylvania State
University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA,
USA
| | - Tatum Gramly
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, Pennsylvania
State University College of Medicine, Hershey,
PA, USA
| | - Nicholas Prestayko
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, Pennsylvania
State University College of Medicine, Hershey,
PA, USA
| | - Danielle Symons Downs
- Department of Kinesiology and College of Medicine, Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pennsylvania State University College of Health and
Human Development, University Park, PA,
USA
| | - Traci M. Murray
- National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug
Abuse, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lea G. Yerby
- Department of Community Medicine and Population Health, The
University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences,
Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Brittany Howell
- Department of Human Development and Family Science, Virginia Tech,
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Roanoke,
VA, USA
| | - Barbara Stahlman
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, Pennsylvania
State University College of Medicine, Hershey,
PA, USA
| | - Jennifer Cruz
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, Pennsylvania
State University College of Medicine, Hershey,
PA, USA
| | - Arjola Agolli
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, Pennsylvania
State University College of Medicine, Hershey,
PA, USA
| | - Holly Horan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Global and Rural Women’s Health
Program, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at
Birmingham, Birmingham, AL,
USA
| | | | - Julie M. Croff
- Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences,
Tulsa, OK, USA
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Morales-Alemán MM, Hu Q, Ferreti G, Yerby LG. Geographic Access to Primary Healthcare Services among Latinos/as/x in Western Alabama. South Med J 2022; 115:864-869. [PMID: 36455892 PMCID: PMC9718417 DOI: 10.14423/smj.0000000000001476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Alabama's Latino/a/x population grew 278% from 2000 to 2018. Tuscaloosa County, located in the largely rural region of western Alabama, also experienced a significant influx of Latino/as/x during this time frame. Geographic healthcare access (GHA) to primary care and hospitals is crucial for immigrant Latino/as/x to care for their health, but few studies have characterized it. The goals of this article were to describe the availability (defined as number of provider locations) and accessibility (defined as travel impedance between potential patients and provider locations) of primary healthcare services and to discuss potential strategies to address these healthcare access challenges. METHODS We drew data from the US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, Blue Cross Blue Shield national doctor and hospital finder database, the Alabama Department of Public Health, and Tuscaloosa Transit Authority. We used geographic data, geographic information systems, and spatial analyses to characterize the availability and accessibility of primary care services and hospitals for Latinos/as/x in Tuscaloosa County using ESRI, ArcGIS 10.6.1. We showed the distribution of Latinos/as/x by census tract with choropleth mapping and mapped primary healthcare providers alongside public transit routes and hospital driving times to support our findings. RESULTS This work demonstrated that Latinos/as/x in Tuscaloosa County were concentrated in more rural areas surrounding the county's city center, presenting significant barriers to GHA. These areas had fewer primary care providers and limited public transit. Many Latinos/as/x in this county had to travel ≥45 minutes to a hospital. CONCLUSIONS Outreach and technology-based approaches, including home visit programs, mobile health units, and telemedicine, may be particularly important in bridging the GHA gaps for this and other largely rural populations the southeastern United States. Some of this potential was unlocked during the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis. These gains should be leveraged toward sustainable healthcare access initiatives for rural Latino/a/x populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes M Morales-Alemán
- From the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health and The Institute of Data and Analytics, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; and the Department of Peace and Social Justice Studies, Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
| | - Qinglin Hu
- From the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health and The Institute of Data and Analytics, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; and the Department of Peace and Social Justice Studies, Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
| | - Gwendolyn Ferreti
- From the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health and The Institute of Data and Analytics, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; and the Department of Peace and Social Justice Studies, Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
| | - Lea G Yerby
- From the Department of Community Medicine and Population Health and The Institute of Data and Analytics, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; and the Department of Peace and Social Justice Studies, Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
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Gannon BS, Gregg A, Wang H, Marshall ME, Yerby LG, Jenkins C, Parton JM. A medical home for children in foster care reduces expenditures. Children's Health Care 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/02739615.2022.2039146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brian S. Gannon
- College of Community Health Sciences, Pediatrics, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Abbey Gregg
- College of Community Health Sciences, Institute for Rural Health Research, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Hui Wang
- College of Community Health Sciences, Institute for Rural Health Research, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | | | - Lea G. Yerby
- College of Community Health Sciences, Institute for Rural Health Research, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Caroline Jenkins
- Institute of Data and Analytics, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Jason M. Parton
- Institute of Data and Analytics, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
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Tucker MT, Lewis DW, Payne Foster P, Lucky F, Yerby LG, Hites L, Higginbotham JC. Community-Based Participatory Research-Speed Dating: An Innovative Model for Fostering Collaborations Between Community Leaders and Academic Researchers. Health Promot Pract 2017; 17:775-780. [PMID: 27738282 DOI: 10.1177/1524839916673612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Developing meaningful community-based participatory relationships between researchers and the community can be challenging. The overall success of a community-based participatory relationship should be predicated on commitment and respect from empowered stakeholders. Prior to developing the technique discussed in this article, we hypothesized that the process of fostering relationships between researchers and the community was much like a social relationship: It has to develop organically and cannot be forced. To address this challenge, we developed a community-based participatory research-speed dating technique to foster relationships based on common interests, which we call CBPR-SD. This article describes the logistics of implementing CBPR-SD to foster scholarly collaborations. As part of a federally funded community-based research project, the speed dating technique was implemented for 10 researchers and 11 community leaders with a goal of developing scholarly collaborative groups who will submit applications for community-based research grants. In the end, four collaborative groups developed through CBPR-SD, three (75%) successfully submitted grant applications to fund pilot studies addressing obesity-related disparities in rural communities. Our preliminary findings suggest that CBPR-SD is a successful tool for promoting productive scholarly relationships between researchers and community leaders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Lisle Hites
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
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