Engaging Underrepresented Communities in Health Research: Lessons Learned.

Members of marginalized communities experience health disparities or inequities and are underrepresented in health research. Community engagement in research is a catalyst for researchers to address health disparities while prioritizing community needs and strengthening community capacity. There is limited knowledge on how to engage underrepresented communities throughout the research process, particularly on initiating a partnership and planning research with a community.

One social network, two perspectives: Social networks of people with Down syndrome based on self-reports and proxy reports.

Background: For people with intellectual disabilities (ID), social networks play a key role in facilitating social inclusion, health, and quality of life. This study shows that a multi-informant approach to collecting social network data improves our understanding of the social worlds of people with Down Syndrome (DS).

Method: A mixed methods egocentric network approach was employed to investigate 27 dyads comprised of people with DS and their family members as proxy reporters to examine variability in network characteristics across self- and proxy reports.

Building and Connecting: Family Strategies for Developing Social Support Networks for Adults With Down Syndrome.

Being embedded in social networks is crucial for well-being and health. While this is particularly the case for people with Down syndrome (DS), our knowledge of how their support networks are developed is limited. This article investigates the role of family members in developing and maintaining the social support networks of their adult children with DS.

Health promotion for people with intellectual disabilities - A concept analysis.

Background: Whereas 'health promotion' is a well-known concept for healthcare professionals, the concept of 'health promotion for people with intellectual disabilities' and its unique associated challenges are not well understood.

Aims And Objective: This article provides a systematic analysis of how health promotion is being conceptualised for people with intellectual disabilities and how health promotion can work best in the light of this group's specific needs and limitations.

Design: Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis.

Promoting Healthy Aging of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities: A Qualitative Case Study.

This qualitative case study sought to examine an innovative community outreach nursing program designed to promote healthy aging for more than 250 individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities living in the community. We analyzed 10 in-depth interviews, one focus group, and various documents using thematic analysis. We researched why the program emerged and found the reasons to be improving the communication with primary care providers, providing person-centered health care, and building on and contributing to existing community-based programs.