Health Behaviors and Preventive Healthcare Utilization Among African-American Attendees at a Faith-Based Public Health Conference: Healthy Churches 2020.

Unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity along with lack of access to quality healthcare contribute to the marked health disparities in chronic diseases among African-Americans. Faith-based public health conferences offer a potential opportunity to improve health literacy and change health behaviors through health promotion within this population, thereby reducing health disparities. This study examined the self-reported health behaviors and preventive healthcare utilization patterns of 77 participants at a predominantly African-American faith-based public health conference, Healthy Churches 2020. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of attendees to assess their health behaviors (diet and physical activity), preventive healthcare utilization (annual healthcare provider visits), and health-promoting activities at their places of worship. The results indicate that attendees of a faith-based public health conference have adequate preventive healthcare utilization, but suboptimal healthy behaviors. Our findings support the need for ongoing health-promoting activities with an emphasis on diet and physical activity among this population.

Striking rural-urban disparities observed in acute stroke care capacity and services in the pacific northwest: implications and recommendations.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The age-adjusted stroke death rate in adults aged ≥45 years is significantly higher in the Northwest region than in the rest of the United States. Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington have substantial rural and frontier areas with unique characteristics and complexities that pose challenges to timely acute stroke care and ultimately affect the patient. METHODS: A regional needs assessment was conducted to assess acute stroke care capacity and services in the Northwest region. Hospitals with an emergency department were surveyed with a standardized online tool based on the Brain Attack Coalition recommendations and developed by stroke neurologists, emergency medical services leaders, state public health professionals, and American Stroke Association members. RESULTS: Approximately 76% of hospitals completed the questionnaire. Striking rural-urban differences were seen with rural hospitals having a much lower capacity to adequately care for patients with stroke. Two thirds lacked the necessary personnel, one third lacked necessary neuroimaging equipment, and one fourth were functioning without written emergency department and tissue plasminogen activator stroke protocols. CONCLUSIONS: This survey represents the first comprehensive regional assessment of stroke care capacity and services both in the Northwest region and the whole United States. The findings have confirmed the need to focus on strengthening stroke personnel, increasing access to care, and promoting written protocols, especially in rural settings. Additionally, promoting stroke center certification, increasing the number of stroke registries throughout the region, encouraging use of inpatient stroke care protocols in rural hospitals, and conducting ongoing stroke care capacity and services surveys is highly recommended.

Addressing community health needs through community engagement research advisory boards.

Over 80% of CTSA programs have a community advisory board (CAB). Little is known about how research discussed with CABs aligns with community priorities (bidirectionality). This program evaluation assessed researcher presentations from 2014 to 2018 to the CABs linked to our CTSA at all three sites (Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida) for relevance to local community needs identified in 2013 and/or 2016. From content analysis, of 65 presentations total, 41 (63%) addressed ≥1 local health needs (47% Minnesota, 60% Florida, and 80% Arizona). Cross-cutting topics were cancer/cancer prevention (physical activity/obesity/nutrition) and mental health. Results could help to prioritize health outcomes of community-engaged research efforts.