Search

Background: New evidence has found breast and cervical cancer risk factors unique to African American women. Thus, there is a significant need to increase their knowledge and understanding of relevant risk factors and the potential protective benefits associated with breast‐feeding and HPV vaccination. The National Witness Project is a robust, evidence‐ and community‐based lay health advisor programme that uses group education, navigation and survivor narratives to increase cancer screening among diverse underserved women. Methods: A multi‐phase, community‐based participatory research study was conducted across three sites in Buffalo, NY, New York City and Arkansas between October 2016 and January 2017. Pre‐/post‐test surveys were administered during volunteer trainings and community programmes. An evaluation survey was also administered at the Annual Meeting for Education and Networking. Paired sample t tests were used to compare pre‐/post‐test survey scores. Results: Trainee survey results showed the overall mean per cent correct pre‐/post‐test scores were 47.7% (SD: 21.87) and 79.2% (SD: 16.14). Altogether, 31 educational programmes reached 332 community participants. Participants' breast and cervical cancer knowledge scores were significantly higher after the education programme (84.4%) than before (55.3%) with a mean change score of 29% (P ≤.001). Conclusion: This paper reveals the underlying complexities to update the educational curriculum content of a multi‐site, community‐based outreach organization. The new curriculum significantly improved African American women's knowledge about breast and cervical cancer by 10%‐36%, clearly demonstrating that this information was new to them. The need for education programming in African American communities to disseminate cancer prevention and risk information remains high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The paper examines the role of community-based participatory research (CBPR) within the context of social justice literature and practice. Methods: Two CBPR case studies addressing health inequities related to Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular disease were selected from a national cross-site study assessing effective academic-community research partnerships. One CBPR partnership works with African Americans in rural Pemiscot County, Missouri and the other CBPR partnership works with African American and Latinos in urban South Bronx, New York City. Data collection included semi-structured key informant interviews and focus groups. Analysis focused on partnerships' context/ history and their use of multiple justice-oriented strategies to achieve systemic and policy changes in order to address social determinants of health in their communities. Results: Community context and history shaped each partnership's strategies to address social determinants. Four social justice approaches (identity/recognition, procedural, distributive, and structural justice) used by both partnerships were identified. These social justice approaches were employed to address underlying causes of inequitable distribution of resources and power structures, while remaining within a scientific research framework. Conclusion: CBPR can bridge the role of science with civic engagement and political participation, empowering community members to become political agents who integrate evidence into their social justice organizing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I argue that participatory action research offers the potential for challenging the normative production of knowledge by including excluded perspectives and engaging those most affected by the research in the process. I report on a participatory action research project ‘Makes Me Mad: Stereotypes of Young Urban Womyn of Color’ that I developed with six young women from New York. In my discussion I address key principles of participatory action research (PAR) including the significance of building collective capacity and creating a community of researchers, the value of PAR as a research methodology, issues of audience, and the presentation of research findings (beyond the journal article) so they are ‘received’. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents an action research project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a summer school curricula on motivation, engagement and performance among seventh and eighth grade students in Rochester, New York. It highlights the curricula implemented by the Monroe 2-Orleans Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) which include the "Math of Homeostasis" in grade seven and "Forces, Motion and Math" for grade 8. It mentions that the grade seven program is problem-based math and science approach which aims to integrate literacy strategies. It states that the grade 8 program provides a cooperative atmosphere which integrates math and science based on the programs from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).