Preliminary engagement of a patient advisory board of African American community members with type 2 diabetes in a peer-led medication adherence intervention.

Background: The Peers Supporting Health Literacy, Self-efficacy, Self-Advocacy, and Adherence (Peers LEAD) program is a culturally tailored educational-behavioral 8-week intervention that addressed psychosocial and sociocultural barriers to diabetes medication adherence in African Americans. A brief 3-week version of the Peers LEAD intervention used a community engagement approach to examine the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention amongst patient stakeholders.

Main Body: African Americans who were adherent to their diabetes medicines were paired with those who were non-adherent to their medicines.

A Case Study of Engaging Hard-to-Reach Participants in the Research Process: Community Advisors on Research Design and Strategies (CARDS)®.

Lack of diversity among study participants in clinical research limits progress in eliminating health disparities. The engagement of lay stakeholders, such as patient or community advisory boards (CABs), has the potential to increase recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups by providing a structure for gathering feedback on research plans and materials from this target population. However, many CABs intentionally recruit prominent stakeholders who are connected to or comfortable with research and academia and thus may not accurately represent the perspectives of underrepresented groups who have been labeled hard-to-reach, including racial minorities and low-income or low-literacy populations.

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING IN MISSISSIPPI: CHANGES IN CONTEXT AND PRACTICE.

Current standards and competencies guiding public health nursing (PHN) practice promote population-focused practice, but few studies have examined the extent to which change toward this type of practice has occurred. A cross-sectional, mail-back survey was conducted among public health nurses in Mississippi to examine recent changes in their practice, contextual factors related to population-focused practice, and recommendations for improving practice and educational preparation for practice. The survey response rate was 54% (n=150 [of 277]).

Perspectives on healthy behaviors among low-income Latino and non-Latino adults in two rural counties.

Objectives: Rural populations and individuals with low incomes are less likely than the general population to achieve recommended levels of physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption. The purpose of this study was to describe the perspectives of low-income adults in 2 rural Wisconsin counties on the factors that influence physical activity and healthy eating.

Design And Sample: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted using 4 focus groups: 2 in English and 2 in Spanish.

Perceived influences on physical activity and diet in low-income adults from two rural counties.

Background: Despite the increased use of ecological models in health behavior research, multilevel influences on health behaviors in rural, low-income people, an aggregate at high risk for sedentary behavior and inadequate diets, have been examined in few studies.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe influences on physical activity and diet in low-income, rural adults.

Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews in a convenience sample of 137 low-income Anglo and Latino adults recruited from two rural Wisconsin counties.