Understanding a Pacific Islander Young Adult Perspective on Access to Higher Education

The Pacific Islander (PI) community suffers disproportionately from illnesses and diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. While there are tremendous health needs within the PI community, there are few health care providers from the community that exist to help address these particular needs. Many efforts have focused on health care workforce diversity to reduce and eliminate health disparities, but few have examined the issues faced in the health care work force pipeline. Understanding educational attainment among PI young adults is pivotal in speaking to a diverse health care workforce where health disparities among Pacific Islanders (PIs) may be addressed. This paper provides an in-depth, qualitative assessment of the various environmental, structural, socio-economic, and social challenges that prevent PIs from attaining higher education; it also discusses the various needs of PI young adults as they relate to psychosocial support, retention and recruitment, and health career knowledge and access. This paper represents a local, Southern California, assessment of PI young adults regarding educational access barriers. We examine how these barriers impact efforts to address health disparities and look at opportunities for health and health-related professionals to reduce and care for the high burden of illnesses and diseases in PI communities.

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Higher Education Institution Partnership to Strengthen the Health Care Workforce in Afghanistan

International Journal of Higher Education ◽

10.5430/ijhe.v9n2p95 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 95

Author(s):

Carolyn M. Porta ◽

Erin M. Mann ◽

Rohina Amiri ◽

Melissa D. Avery ◽

Sheba Azim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Health Care ◽

Workforce Development ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Development Program ◽

Care Providers ◽

Health Care Workforce ◽

Knowledge And Skills ◽

Laboratory Technology ◽

The University

Despite ongoing insecurity, Afghanistan has demonstrated improvement in health outcomes. Reasons for this success include a strategic public-private health service delivery model and investment in Afghan health care workforce development. Afghan universities have the primary responsibility for ensuring that an adequate health care workforce is available to private and public health care delivery settings. Most entry-level health care providers working in Afghanistan are educated within the country. However, university constraints, including faculty shortages and limited access to professional development, have affected both the flow of the health care workforce pipeline and the skill levels and competencies of those who do enter the workforce. Aware of these constraints and workforce needs, the administration at Kabul University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), working in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education, prioritized investment in strengthening technical and academic capabilities within four faculties (anesthesiology, dentistry, medical laboratory technology, and midwifery). KUMS partnered with the University of Minnesota in 2017 with United States Agency for International Development support through the University Support and Workforce Development Program. Together they established a unique training-of-trainers (TOT) faculty development program to improve faculty knowledge and skills specific to their technical expertise, as well as knowledge and skills in instructional design and research methods. In this article, we describe the successes and challenges associated with partnership development, implementation, and sustainability.

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Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Connectedness with Health Care Providers Scale for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology ◽

10.1089/jayao.2019.0067 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 271-277

Author(s):

Celeste R. Phillips ◽

Joan E. Haase ◽

Giorgos Bakoyannis

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Young Adults ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Psychometric Evaluation ◽

Adolescents And Young Adults ◽

Care Providers

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Strategies Home Health Care Providers Can Use to Help Decrease Minority Health Disparities

Home Health Care Management & Practice ◽

10.1177/1084822304268166 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 56-57

Author(s):

Marshelle Thobaben

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Disparities ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Home Health Care ◽

Minority Health ◽

Home Health ◽

Care Providers ◽

Minority Health Disparities

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Access to Mental Health Services Among Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine: Results from a Nationwide Survey

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.978 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S614-S614 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

B. Roberts ◽

N. Makhashvili ◽

J. Javakhishvili

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Services ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Psychosocial Support ◽

Emotional Problem ◽

Internally Displaced Persons ◽

Displaced Persons ◽

Care Providers ◽

Internally Displaced

BackgroundThere are an estimated 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine as a result of the armed conflict in Ukraine.Objectives(i) Measure the burden of key mental disorders (PTSD, depression and anxiety); (ii) examine rates of utilization of health and psychosocial support services; (iii) examine the patterns of utilisation of services.MethodsThe study used a cross-sectional survey design and was conducted throughout Ukraine between March and May 2016 with 2203 IDPs aged 18 years and over. Time-location sampling was chosen as a probabilistic sampling method. Outcome measures were the PCL-5 for PTSD, the PHQ-9 for depression and the GAD-7 for anxiety. Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses were used.ResultsOf the 2203 respondents, 703 reported experiencing a mental health or emotional problem over the previous 12 months and were also screened positive with PTSD, depression or anxiety. Of these 703, 180 had sought care (with sources of care to be given in the presentation). Therefore, 523 respondents did not seek care, equating to an overall treatment gap of 74%, (74% for PTSD, 71% for depression and 70% for anxiety). Key reasons for not utilising treatment included preferring to use their own medications (n = 176); unaffordability of health services (n = 118) or medications (n = 140); poor understanding by health care providers (n = 123); poor quality of services (n = 78) and stigma/embarrassment (n = 41).ConclusionsThe findings support the need for a scaled-up, comprehensive and trauma informed response to provision of the mental health care of IDPs in Ukraine.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Cancer in adolescents and young adults in Japan: epidemiology and cancer strategy

International Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1007/s10147-021-02064-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kayo Nakata ◽

Eiso Hiyama ◽

Kota Katanoda ◽

Tomohiro Matsuda ◽

Yuma Tada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Cancer Registry ◽

Psychosocial Support ◽

Vital Statistics ◽

Registry Data ◽

Adolescents And Young Adults ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Care Providers ◽

Cancer Registry Data

AbstractAccording to national cancer registry data in Japan, approximately 20,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs, age 15–39 years) are newly diagnosed with cancer each year. Improvements in treatment and care for AYAs with cancer are included in the Phase Three Basic Plan to Promote Cancer Control Programs in Japan. This article reviews current cancer incidence and survival for AYAs with cancer in Japan using population-based cancer registry data. Mortality data through 2019 from the Vital Statistics of Japan are also described. Encouragingly, the 5-year survival probability for AYA cancers has continued to improve, in parallel with childhood cancers, and the mortality rate has decreased. There has been increasing attention to these vulnerable patients and improved partnerships and collaboration between adult and pediatric oncology; however, obstacles to the care of this population still exist at multiple levels. These obstacles relate to specific areas: research efforts and enrollment in clinical trials on AYA malignancies, AYA-specific psychosocial support such as education, financial support, and oncofertility care, and cancer care systems. It is important for Japanese oncologists, health care providers, and health policy makers to recognize that the AYA population remains vulnerable and still have unmet needs.

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Determinants of visits of cancer patients to Dutch Community Based Psychosocial Support Centres (CBPSCs)

Medical & Clinical Research ◽

10.33140/mcr.06.04.04 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Psychosocial Support ◽

Well Being ◽

Personal Factors ◽

Care Providers ◽

Community Based ◽

Consistency Results ◽

Sum Scores

Aim: The psychosocial support for cancer patients in the mental health care is often limited because of difficulties in access and the expense to patients. In response, informal regional support centers have been developed in the Netherlands called “Community-based Psychosocial Support Centres (hereinafter: CBPSCs) for cancer patients and relatives. They offer supporting complementary activities and professional psychological help which are easily accessible and free of charge. We studied the use (frequency, duration and future use) and the determinants of the visits to CBSPCs. Method: Visitors covering 701 cases from 25 CBPSCs filled-out a web-based questionnaire, answering questions about how often they contacted CBPSCs (frequency, duration and future use) and which personal factors, mainly based of the ASE model, influenced the use of CBPSCs. Also, the well-being of the patient, the evaluation of the visits and the significance of the support received were studied as dependent variables, in addition to the role of the ASE factors, applying multivariate analyses. All sum scores showed a strong internal consistency. Results: Most patients did not know what CBPSCs are or where to find them. About one-fifth was alerted by family, friends and acquaintances. Another 20% was informed about CBPSCs by hospital oncology nurses and through leaflets. Patients rarely reported being referred by their GPs and medical specialists. Health care providers in hospitals were much better informed about CBPSCs, referring approximately half of their patients to CBPSCs. Around two thirds of the patients visited the CBSPC once a week for 2 to 3 hours and intended to continue these visits in years to come. Present use generally showed that the most important determinants are the attitude towards the visits, whether the patient is a recent visitor, the patient’s perceived significance of the visits and having a socially-inactive lifestyle. Conclusions: The study confirms the high value that this type of organisation provides in informal support in cancer care. The CBPSCs need to improve their visibility in the healthcare system through more public campaigns and better information to patients. More countries should introduce and stimulate this type of easily-accessible, cheap, effective and highly-valued supportive care centres, and explore the needs of patient and family members.

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Qualitative Assessment of Bad News Delivery Practices during Miscarriage Diagnosis

Qualitative Health Research ◽

10.1177/1049732319874038 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 258-267

Author(s):

Maria Brann ◽

Jennifer J. Bute ◽

Susanna Foxworthy Scott

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Bad News ◽

Qualitative Assessment ◽

Care Providers ◽

Patient Centered ◽

Communication Behaviors ◽

Training Techniques ◽

Bad News Delivery

Miscarriage is one of the most common pregnancy complications health care providers discuss with patients. Previous research suggests that women’s distress is compounded by ineffective communication with providers, who are usually not trained to deliver bad news using patient-centered dialogue. The purpose of this study was to use a patient-centered approach to examine women’s experiences with and perspectives of communication during a miscarriage to assist in the development of communication training tools for health care providers. During focus groups, 22 women who had experienced miscarriage discussed video-recorded standardized patient-provider interactions and recalled communication during their own miscarriages. Results of a pragmatic iterative analysis of the transcripts suggest training techniques and communication behaviors that should guide education for providers to deliver the diagnosis of and treatment options for early pregnancy loss, such as demonstrating empathy, creating space for processing, checking for understanding, and avoiding medical jargon and emotionally charged language.

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