Impact of Self-Preference Community Fitness Interventions in High-Risk African Americans
We describe a 1-year intervention program to increase physical activity and reduce cardiometabolic risk. Interventions incorporated the premise that self-selection into flexible venues and varying exercise modalities would result in improvement in fitness and risk factors. Results of this single-group pretest/posttest observational study show 1-year overall group reductions in body weight and body mass index and cardiometabolic factors including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and increases in dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-derived absolute and percent lean mass and lean-fat ratio, and decreased fat mass. (Source: F...
Source: Family and Community Health - August 19, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Planting Healthy Roots: Using Documentary Film to Evaluate and Disseminate Community-Based Participatory Research
Documentary filmmaking approaches incorporating community engagement and awareness raising strategies may be a promising approach to evaluate community-based participatory research. The study purpose was 2-fold: (1) to evaluate a documentary film featuring the formation and implementation of a farmers' market and (2) to assess whether the film affected awareness regarding food access issues in a food-desert community with high rates of obesity. The coalition model of filmmaking, a model consistent with a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, and personal stories, community profiles, and expert interviews ...
Source: Family and Community Health - August 19, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Using Community Feedback to Improve Community Interventions: Results From the Deep South Network for Cancer Control Project
The Deep South Network for Cancer Control (DSNCC), initiated in 2000, is a dual-state, community-based participatory research infrastructure composed of academic and community partners committed to reducing cancer disparities among underserved African Americans in 12 designated counties of the Alabama Black Belt and the Mississippi Delta, 2 historically underserved areas of the country. Local residents trained as Community Health Advisors as Research Partners implemented a 3-tier community action plan (CAP) focused on promoting cancer screening, physical activity, and nutrition. Breast, cervical and colorectal cancer scree...
Source: Family and Community Health - August 19, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Determinants of Implementation Effectiveness in a Physical Activity Program for Church-Going Latinas
Faith-based interventions show promise for reducing health disparities among ethnic minority populations. However, churches vary significantly in their readiness and willingness to support these programs. Semistructured interviews were conducted with priests, other church leaders, and lay health advisors in churches implementing a physical activity intervention targeting Latinas. Implementation effectiveness was operationalized as average 6-month participation rates in physical activity classes at each church. Factors facilitating implementation include church leader support and strength of parishioners' connection to the ...
Source: Family and Community Health - August 19, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Foreword
No abstract available (Source: Family and Community Health)
Source: Family and Community Health - August 19, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Foreword Source Type: research
Pull of Gravity: A Media Review Focusing on the Social and Environmental Effects of Recidivism
This article focuses on the issues of recidivism while incorporating Pull of Gravity, a documentary, which highlights the challenges ex-offenders encounter during postrelease. This article explores 3 sociological issues closely related to recidivism: (1) types of populations that are recidivating, (2) communities' ex-offenders are returning home to, and (3) challenges they face in their transition. This article integrates research on issues of reentry and utilizes real-life experiences reflected through this film to give readers a tangible perception on the challenges that are currently faced. It explores possible resoluti...
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Reclaim Northside: An Environmental Justice Approach to Address Vacant Land in Pittsburgh
Urban decline, disinvestment, and blight have not traditionally been addressed by the environmental conservation movement. In this article, we describe an environmental justice-focused intervention located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that aimed to increase community empowerment to address urban environmental injustices by training residents to reclaim vacant land. We use a case study approach to illustrate resident perceptions of the impact of vacant land and urban decay. The results suggest that these residents viewed vacancy as an important indicator of community well-being and social inequality. We use a social and env...
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Giving Economically Disadvantaged, Minority Food Pantry Patrons' a Voice: Implications for Equitable Access to Sufficient, Nutritious Food
This study provides economically disadvantaged, minority food pantry patrons (hereafter, patrons) a meaning-ful voice by examining their experiences trying to obtain sufficient, nutritious food. Five focus groups were conducted using a semistructured discussion guide. Atlast.ti software was used to manage and analyze the data. Patrons reported that pantry staff who preserved their dignity by showing compassion were highly valued. Stigma and shame associated with pantry use were major concerns. Patrons suggested environmental and policy changes to improve their food acquisition experiences. These findings suggest that multi...
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Family Structure Types and Adequate Utilization of Antenatal Care in Kenya
Features of the health care delivery system may not be the only expounding factors of adequate utilization of antenatal care among women. Other social factors such as the family structure and its environment contribute toward pregnant women's utilization of antenatal care. An understanding of how women in different family structure types and social groups use basic maternal health services is important toward developing and implementing maternal health care policy in the post-Millennium Development Goal era, especially in the sub-Saharan Africa where maternal mortality still remains high. (Source: Family and Community Health)
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Losing Ground: Racial Disparities in Medical Debt and Home Foreclosure in the Deep South
This study examined the role of medical debt in relation to home foreclosure in a Deep South county with high rates of poverty, health disparities, and a racial gap in homeownership. Statistical analysis and geographic information systems mapping of municipal court records for 890 foreclosees indicated disproportionately high rates of medical debt among African Americans who lived in racially distinct neighborhoods. Both nonmedical and medical debt judgments were more numerous among African Americans than among whites; foreclosees in both groups had a higher medical debt burden compared with nonforeclosees. These results h...
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Identify Environmental Justice Issues in an Inner-City Community and Inform Urban Planning
The Southeast CARE Coalition has been using community-based participatory research to examine environmental degradation in the Southeast Community, Newport News, Virginia. A survey was developed to collect assessment data. Up to 66% of respondents were concerned about environmental problems in their community. Those with health conditions were significantly more likely to identify specific environmental problems. The top 5 environmental concerns included coal dust, air quality, crime, water quality, and trash. The community-based participatory research process is building community capacity and participation, providing com...
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Health Status and Residential Exposure to Air Toxics: What Are the Effects on Children's Academic Achievement?
This article examines the effects of children's subjective health status and exposure to residential environmental toxins on academic performance for the first time, while adjusting for school-level effects using generalized estimating equations. The analysis employs National Air Toxics Assessment risk estimates and individual-level data collected through a mail survey. Results indicate that poorer subjective health status and higher levels of residential air toxins are statistically significantly associated with lower grade point averages, meaning that there is an independent effect of air pollution on children's academic...
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Inequitable Chronic Lead Exposure: A Dual Legacy of Social and Environmental Injustice
Both historic and contemporary factors contribute to the current unequal distribution of lead in urban environments and the disproportionate impact lead exposure has on the health and well-being of low-income minority communities. We consider the enduring impact of lead through the lens of environmental justice, taking into account well-documented geographic concentrations of lead, legacy sources that produce chronic exposures, and intergenerational transfers of risk. We discuss the most promising type of public health action to address inequitable lead exposure and uptake: primordial prevention efforts that address the mo...
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Beyond Baby Steps: An Empirical Study of the Impact of Environmental Justice Executive Order 12898
This study evaluated the impact of Executive Order (EO) 12898 to advance environmental justice. We conducted a review evaluating the frequency and effective use of EO 12898 since execution with particular focus following President Obama's Plan EJ 2014. We found that both EO 12898 and Plan EJ 2104 had little, if any, impact on federal regulatory decision making. To the extent federal agencies discussed EO 12898, most did so in boilerplate rhetoric that satisfied compliance but was devoid of detailed thought or analysis. In the 21st year, with the exception of the Environmental Protection Agency, very little federal regulato...
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Foreword
No abstract available (Source: Family and Community Health)
Source: Family and Community Health - May 26, 2016 Category: Primary Care Tags: Foreword Source Type: research
