Association of the COVID-19 Pandemic With Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Receipt Among Pregnant Individuals: United States, 2016-2022.

To evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receipt among pregnant individuals overall and by race/ethnicity. We measured changes in WIC receipt among Medicaid-covered births (n = 10 484 697) from the US National Center for Health Statistics Natality Files (2016-2022). Our interrupted time series logistic model included a continuous monthly variable, a binary post-COVID variable, and a continuous slope shift variable.

Effects of Race and Poverty on Sleep Duration: Analysis of Patterns in the 2014 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander National Health Interview Survey and General National Health Interview Survey Data.

Background: There are health concerns associated with unhealthy sleep duration. A growing body of evidence indicates that there are disparities in sleep duration based upon race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Prior studies have suffered from inadequate measures of poverty and have not included Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI).

A Community-Based Participatory Approach to Promote Healthy Eating Among Marshallese.

This article describes changes made to the menu served during the 2015 Marshallese May Day celebration in Northwest Arkansas, an annual Marshallese community event. The menu changes were part of a community-based participatory collaborative to improve nutrition and health in the Marshallese community. The 2015 May Day menu significantly reduced the 2014 May Day menu amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates, sodium, and cholesterol of foods offered by incorporating healthier ingredients and reducing portion sizes.

Physical Activity Among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To examine the proportion of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) meeting recommended physical activity guidelines for Americans (PAG) and determine differences in physical activity (PA) by sex and between NHPI and Asians when data are disaggregated.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Setting: Articles identified in CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, Embase, PsychINFO, PubMed, Scopus, SocINDEX, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science.

Sleep deficiency among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black, and White Americans and the association with cardiometabolic diseases: analysis of the National Health Interview Survey Data.

Purpose: Examine sleep deficiency, factors, and associations with cardiometabolic diseases in United States Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (NHPI), Blacks, and Whites.

Design: Data from the 2014 National Health Interview Survey and NHPI National Health Interview Survey household interviews of adults were analyzed.

Participants: Of 31,724 participants, 7% were NHPI, 14% were Black, and 79% were White.

Design of a comparative effectiveness randomized controlled trial testing a faith-based Diabetes Prevention Program (WORD DPP) vs. a Pacific culturally adapted Diabetes Prevention Program (PILI DPP) for Marshallese in the United States.

Background: Pacific Islander populations, including Marshallese, face a disproportionately high burden of health disparities relative to the general population.

Objectives: A community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach was utilized to engage Marshallese participants in a comparative effectiveness trial testing 2 Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) interventions designed to reduce participant's weight, lower HbA1c, encourage healthy eating, and increase physical activity.

Design: To compare the effectiveness of the faith-based (WORD) DPP to the culturally adapted (Pacific Culturally Adapted Diabetes Prevention Program [PILI]) DPP, a clustered randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 384 Marshallese participants will be implemented in 32 churches located in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

Developing and Launching a Research Participant Registry.

Background: A major challenge in clinical research today is the difficulty that studies have in meeting recruitment goals. Up to 48% of studies do not meet accrual goals within the specified timeframe, significantly delaying the progress of projects and the dissemination of findings. This pervasive problem is a recruitment crisis.

Structural and Socio-cultural Barriers to Prenatal Care in a US Marshallese Community.

Objectives Pacific Islanders are disproportionately burdened by poorer perinatal health outcomes with higher rates of pre-term births, low birth weight babies, infant mortality, and inadequate or no prenatal care. The aim of this study is to examine Marshallese mothers' beliefs, perceptions, and experiences of prenatal care and to identify potential barriers. Methods Three focus groups were conducted with Marshallese mothers, who were 18 years or older, and living in Arkansas.

Best practices for community-engaged participatory research with Pacific Islander communities in the USA and USAPI: protocol for a scoping review.

Introduction: Community-based participatory research is a partnership approach to research that seeks to equally involve community members, organisational representatives and academic partners throughout the research process in a coequal and mutually beneficial partnership. To date, no published article has synthesised the best practices for community-based participatory research practices with Pacific Islanders.

Methods And Analysis: The reviewers will examine studies' titles, abstracts and full text, comparing eligibility to address discrepancies.

Integrating Interprofessional Education and Cultural Competency Training to Address Health Disparities.

Problem: Many U.S. medical schools have accreditation requirements for interprofessional education and training in cultural competency, yet few programs have developed programs to meet both of these requirements simultaneously.

Community Health Warriors: Marshallese Community Health Workers' Perceptions and Experiences with CBPR and Community Engagement.

Our manuscript highlights the viewpoints and reflections of the native Marshallese community health workers (CHWs) engaged in research with the local Marshallese community in Northwest Arkansas. In particular, this paper documents the vital role Marshallese CHWs play in the success of programs and research efforts. The negative health effects of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands has been passed down through many generations, along with unfavorable attitudes toward the U.

Cultural Adaptation of Diabetes Self-Management Education for Marshallese Residing in the United States: Lessons Learned in Curriculum Development.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a significant public health problem, with U.S. Pacific Islander communities bearing a disproportionate burden.

Qualitative study of participants' perceptions and preferences regarding research dissemination.

Background: The study identifies the experiences, preferences, and perceptions of research participants regarding dissemination of research findings at the participant level and community level.

Methods: The qualitative study utilized focus-group methodology to explore research participants' experiences and preferences for the dissemination of research findings. Five focus groups were held with 53 participants who were recruited through existing community advisory boards in Arkansas.

Improving Culturally Appropriate Care Using a Community-Based Participatory Research Approach: Evaluation of a Multicomponent Cultural Competency Training Program, Arkansas, 2015-2016.

Introduction: The United States continues to become more racially and ethnically diverse, and racial/ethnic minority communities encounter sociocultural barriers to quality health care, including implicit racial/ethnic bias among health care providers. In response, health care organizations are developing and implementing cultural competency curricula. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, we developed and evaluated a cultural competency training program to improve the delivery of culturally appropriate care in Marshallese and Hispanic communities.

Design of a randomized, controlled, comparative-effectiveness trial testing a Family Model of Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) vs. Standard DSME for Marshallese in the United States.

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a significant public health problem, with U.S. Pacific Islander communities-such as the Marshallese-bearing a disproportionate burden.

Diabetes and Hypertension in Marshallese Adults: Results from Faith-Based Health Screenings.

Background: The Pacific Islander population in the USA is growing rapidly. However, research on Pacific Islanders in the USA is limited, or sometimes misleading due to aggregation with Asian Americans. This project seeks to add to the dearth of health literature by conducting a health assessment of Marshallese in northwest Arkansas.

Engagement practices that join scientific methods with community wisdom: designing a patient-centered, randomized control trial with a Pacific Islander community.

This article illustrates how a collaborative research process can successfully engage an underserved minority community to address health disparities. Pacific Islanders, including the Marshallese, are one of the fastest growing US populations. They face significant health disparities, including extremely high rates of type 2 diabetes.

Interpretive policy analysis: Marshallese COFA migrants and the Affordable Care Act.

Background: Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the rate of uninsured in the United States has declined significantly. However, not all legal residents have benefited equally. As part of a community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership with the Marshallese community, an interpretative policy analysis research project was conducted to document Marshallese Compact of Free Association (COFA) migrants' understanding and experiences regarding the ACA and related health policies.

Marshallese COFA Migrants in Arkansas.

Arkansas is home to one of the largest populations of Marshallese in the world. Marshallese communities suffer from a disproportionate incidence of chronic diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and infectious diseases, such as Hansen's disease (leprosy), tuberculosis, and types of hepatitis. There are a number of structural, legal, economic, and social issues that must be addressed in order to reduce health disparities and increase access to health care for Marshallese living in Arkansas.

The National Children's Study: Recruitment Outcomes Using the Provider-Based Recruitment Approach.

Objective: In 2009, the National Children's Study (NCS) Vanguard Study tested the feasibility of household-based recruitment and participant enrollment using a birth-rate probability sample. In 2010, the NCS Program Office launched 3 additional recruitment approaches. We tested whether provider-based recruitment could improve recruitment outcomes compared with household-based recruitment.

Breast-feeding perceptions, beliefs and experiences of Marshallese migrants: an exploratory study.

Objective: To determine perceptions, beliefs and experiences affecting breast-feeding in Marshallese mothers residing in Northwest Arkansas, USA.

Design: A qualitative, exploratory study using a brief survey and focus groups. Marshallese women, 18 years or older who had a child under 7 years of age, were included in the study.

Health Beliefs of Marshallese Regarding Type 2 Diabetes.

Objectives: The Marshallese population suffers from disproportionate rates of type 2 diabetes. This study identifies the underlying beliefs and perceptions that affect diabetes self-management behavior in the US Marshallese population living in Arkansas.

Methods: The study employs focus groups with a semi-structured interview guide developed using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and the Health Belief Model.

Social Ecology and Diabetes Self-Management among Pacific Islanders in Arkansas.

Chronic diseases disproportionately affect ethnic and racial minorities. Pacific Islanders, including the Marshallese, experience some of the highest documented rates of type 2 diabetes. Northwest Arkansas is home to the largest population of Marshallese outside of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and many migrants are employed by the local poultry industry.

Family Model of Diabetes Education With a Pacific Islander Community.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to use a community-based participatory research approach to pilot-test a family model of diabetes education conducted in participants' homes with extended family members.

Methods: The pilot test included 6 families (27 participants) who took part in a family model of diabetes self-management education (DSME) using an intervention-driven pre- and posttest design with the aim of improving glycemic control as measured by A1C. Questionnaires and additional biometric data were also collected.

Effect of US health policies on health care access for Marshallese migrants.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a sovereign nation previously under the administrative control of the United States. Since 1986, the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) between the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the United States allows Marshall Islands citizens to freely enter, lawfully reside, and work in the United States, and provides the United States exclusive military control of the region. When the COFA was signed, COFA migrants were eligible for Medicaid and other safety net programs.