A Strength-Based Online Community Intervention (SOCI) for promoting resilience among adults in Hubei province, China, during COVID-19 lockdown

This article describes an undergraduate health sciences course where students propose a community-level intervention that addresses a local health disparity. Students use community planning principles and health equity concepts as a final project in their 8-week online community-engaged course. The student-proposed project engages a community in health education or promotion-program planning and allows for faculty assessment of pedagogical decisions. A curricular commitment to health equity enhances the capacity and competency of learners to address the structural inequities that fuel pervasive health disparities among socially disadvantaged populations. Ethnocultural empathy or racial/ethnic perspective taking is used as a measurable competency. The final paper requires students to describe how the perspectives of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) have shaped their proposed community intervention. They are also asked to offer recommendations on how to best mitigate the racial bias that may show up in community-based interventions.

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Reframing the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak through a social media community for students

10.31234/osf.io/d5wph ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Francesco Pagnini ◽

Elisa Bonalda ◽

Eleonora Montrasi ◽

Elena Toselli ◽

Antonietti Alessandro

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Online Community ◽

Community Intervention ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Qualitative Feedback ◽

Cognitive Reframing

The COVID-19 outbreak and the restrictions that have been enforced by the health authorities are having a profound psychological impact on the population. Many people, including the students, faced forced modifications to their daily lives and this prompted the need for scalable strategies to promote resilience. We designed an online community intervention for psychology students and recent alumni aimed to promote functional coping strategies through openness and cognitive flexibility. This psycho-educational intervention was delivered through a private group on social media (Facebook) and it involved the publication of exercises and quick lectures. Contents were posted regularly and people from the community were invited to share their comments. The posts included stimuli that promote open and flexible reflections on the current situation. The overall aim of this group was a cognitive reframing on the epidemic effects, promoting creative and flexible thinking. We ran a thematic analysis of the interactions, and we collected qualitative feedback at the end of the intervention. The participants’ comments dealt with changes in their perspectives, sharing discomfort, encouragement and support, and building a sense of community. Post-intervention comments were highly satisfied and confirmed the helpfulness of the stimuli to promote flexibility and openness, eventually helping to manage the negative emotions related to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study provides preliminary evidence that an online psycho-educational community stimulating flexibility and openness can help to reframe the negative psychological impact of the outbreak, improving their management.

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Mindfully Reframing the Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak Through a Social Media Community for Students: A Pragmatic Study

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.566778 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Francesco Pagnini ◽

Elisa Bonalda ◽

Eleonora Montrasi ◽

Elena Toselli ◽

Alessandro Antonietti

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Online Community ◽

Community Intervention ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Qualitative Feedback ◽

Cognitive Reframing

The COVID-19 outbreak and the restrictions that have been enforced by the health authorities are having a profound psychological impact on the population. Many people, including the students, faced forced modifications to their daily lives and this prompted the need for scalable strategies to promote resilience. We designed an online community intervention for psychology students and recent alumni aimed to promote functional coping strategies through openness and cognitive flexibility. This psycho-educational intervention was delivered through a private group on social media (Facebook) during the acute phase of the lockdown period and it involved the publication of exercises and quick lectures. Contents were posted regularly and members of the community were invited to share their comments. The posts included stimuli that promote open and flexible reflections on the current situation. The overall aim of this group was a cognitive reframing on the epidemic effects, promoting creative and flexible thinking. We ran a thematic analysis of the interactions and we collected qualitative feedback at the end of the intervention. The participants' comments dealt with changes in their perspectives, sharing discomfort, encouragement and support, and building a sense of community. Post-intervention comments were highly satisfied and confirmed the helpfulness of the intervention to promote flexibility and openness, eventually helping to manage the negative emotions related to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study provides preliminary evidence that an online psycho-educational community stimulating flexibility and openness can help to reframe the negative psychological impact of the outbreak, improving their management.

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An Online Community Intervention for Older Persons with Pre-Frailty and Frailty: Pilot Studies

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.3458 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 968-968

Author(s):

Oleg Zaslavsky ◽

Frances Chu ◽

Shaoqing Ge ◽

Andrew Teng ◽

Shih-Yin Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Online Community ◽

Life Experience ◽

Community Intervention ◽

Hybrid Approach ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Self Management ◽

Community Interventions ◽

Problem Solving Therapy ◽

Pilot Studies

Abstract Online community interventions can support self-management in older populations but have rarely targeted symptomology of pre-frailty and frailty. To support older adults’ pre-frailty/frailty symptom management, we iteratively refined an approach entitled Virtual Online Community for Aging Life Experience (VOCALE) in three consecutive pilot studies (2018-2020). These studies employed asynchronous online discussions in which participants were asked to respond to weekly prompts. A study facilitator moderated the discussion, encouraging participants to respond to both the prompts and comments of other participants. In the first pilot (n=8), participants engaged in a collective exploration of different symptoms of pre-frailty and frailty. The second (n=10) and third (n=10) pilots employed a hybrid approach including collaborative exploration and learning of different problem-solving therapy skills over eight weeks. The mean age of participants of the three pilots combined was 80.6 (SD = 7.0). Most participants were female (71%). Participant attrition ranged from 20-25%. Many participants who completed the study noted that they enjoyed the discussions. The participants also found the moderators' follow-up questions and support timely and engaging. Additionally, we observed small but positive changes in self-efficacy measures. These pilot studies have confirmed that older adults with pre-frailty and frailty are interested, and can successfully engage in online community interventions, with the technical support and moderation provided, even during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdown policies were rolled out. Participation in the intervention was also associated with increased awareness of the need to be proactive in self-management concerning frailty-related symptoms.

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New Online Community Supports Military Spouses

Leader Mag Digital Object Group ◽

10.1044/leader.an1.25062020.66 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Online Community ◽

Military Spouses ◽

Community Supports

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Rice Fortified with Iron Given Weekly Increases Hemoglobin Levels and Reduces Anemia in Infants: a Community Intervention Trial

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research ◽

10.1024/0300-9831/a000145 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 83 (1) ◽

pp. 59-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Francisco Plácido Nogueira Arcanjo ◽

Paulo Roberto Santos ◽

Álvaro Jorge Madeiro Leite ◽

Francisco Sulivan Bastos Mota ◽

Sérgio Duarte Segall

Keyword(s):

Community Intervention ◽

Capillary Blood ◽

Number Needed To Treat ◽

Intervention Trial ◽

Day Care Centers ◽

Control Center ◽

Ferric Pyrophosphate ◽

Child Day Care ◽

Child Day Care Centers ◽

The Impact

More than two billion people suffer from anemia worldwide, and it is estimated that more than 50 % of cases are caused by iron deficiency. In this community intervention trial, we evaluated infants aged 10 to 23 months of age (n = 171) from two public child day-care centers. Intervention lasted 18 weeks. The 50-g individual portion (uncooked) of fortified rice provided 56.4 mg of elemental iron as ferric pyrophosphate. Capillary blood samples to test for anemia were taken at baseline and at endpoint. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of rice fortified with iron (Ultrarice®) on hemoglobin and anemia prevalence compared with standard household rice. For the fortified rice center, baseline mean hemoglobin was 113.7 ± 9.2 g/L, and at endpoint 119.5 ± 7.7 g/L, p < 0.0001; for the standard rice center, baseline mean hemoglobin value was 113.5 ± 40.7 g/L, and at endpoint 113.6 ± 21.0, p = 0.99. Anemia prevalence for the fortified rice center was 27.8 % (20/72) at baseline, and 11.1 % (8/72) at endpoint, p = 0.012; for the control center, 47.1 % (33/70) were anemic at baseline, and 37.1 % (26/70) at the end of the study, p = 0.23. The Number Needed to Treat (NNT) was 4. In this intervention, rice fortified with iron given weekly was effective in increasing hemoglobin levels and reducing anemia in infants.

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