MAPPR Manuscript Wins RWJ Reader Poll

The votes are in, and a manuscript written by MAPPR has won a recent reader poll as the most influential research in its field for the current year!  The Culture of Health Reader Poll was created by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to identify the research that best highlights the identification and elimination of disparities in health care. 

“To achieve a culture of health, we need to build an evidence base and identify and support research that promotes progress in improving the health and well-being of all,” says VP Research-Evaluation-Learning and Chief Science Officer Alonzo L. Plough.

A panel of experts looked at research published in 2014, including external and RWJ Foundation-supported research, and nominated four top finalists.  Readers were then encouraged to vote during a two-week period in November of this year.  The winners were announced on December 5, 2014. 

The winning research paper, Por Nuestros Ojos:  Understanding Social Determinants of Health through the Eyes of Youth was published this summer in the Progress in Community Health Partnerships journal and co-written by MAPPR Team members Claire Schuch, Brisa Urquieta de Hernandez, Lacey Williams, Heather Smith, Janni Sorensen, Owen Furuseth and Michael Dulin.  The paper discusses the use of Photovoice and student photographers to identify and validate existing data and models used to address socio-spatial determinants of health in at-risk neighborhoods.  The students were instructed to photograph evidence of issues that directly or indirectly affected the health of the neighborhood, and to create narratives explaining the role these issues played.

To read the abstract of the winning paper, click HERE.

Congratulations to the authors and thanks to everyone who voted!  

MAPPR Launches Online Directory of Resources

On Monday, November 10th, MAPPR held an event at the Midwood International and Cultural Center to announce the launch of an online directory of resources available to underserved communities here in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.  The directory arose as a direct result of research MAPPR has done in the community.

"We had funding from Robert Wood Johnson in which we evaluated barriers to getting healthcare," says Research Coordinator Brisa Hernandez.  "During the course of this research we were hearing from the community that there was no centralized place to look for resources that were available to underserved members of Charlotte-Mecklenburg."

MAPPR team members spoke to community members to try to address this issue via a new intervention, and together it was determined that a database needed to be built that contained this needed healthcare information.  As the intervention progressed, MAPPR partnered with two other local organizations - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee and Community Building Initiative - to attempt to build something more comprehensive that addressed healthcare as well as other services such as legal assistance, social services, and child care.

After years of work - the Mecklenburg Access Portal (The MAP), as the project has been named, is ready for public use.  So far more than 80 organizations have posted their information on the portal.

"We are excited to already have so many great organizations on board," says MAP Community Engagement Coordinator Brant Aycock.  "Our hope is that other organizations serving these communities will want to participate as well."

Roughly 50 community members and representatives from organizations attended the launch event on November 10th.  Attendees first heard from MAPPR Director of Research Michael Dulin and CRC Executive Director Willie Ratchford before enjoying a demonstration of the MAP.

If you or your organization would like to learn more about the Mecklenburg Access Portal (The MAP), please contact Brant Aycock at Brant.Aycock@carolinashealthcare.org.

MAPPR Co-Founder and UNC Charlotte Professor Receives Provost's Faculty Award for Community Engagement

Dr. Smith (center) with UNC Charlotte Provost Joan Lorden (right) and Suzanne Leland, Chair of the 2014 Provost's Faculty Award for Community Engagement Selection Committee (left)

Dr. Heather Smith, a Professor of Geography at UNC Charlotte and one of the co-founders of MAPPR, has received the 2014 Provost’s Faculty Award for Community Engagement!  This award honors faculty members “whose teaching, research and service embodies the University’s commitment to civic involvement and whose work strengthens the relationship between UNC Charlotte and the larger community”. 

Community engagement has regularly been a focus of Dr. Smith’s work, and her collaboration with MAPPR provided a natural extension of that endeavor.  With her MAPPR colleagues, Dr. Smith has been a lead member of research teams exploring the efficiency of primary care services provided to the uninsured Latino population of Charlotte; the perceived and real barriers facing Latino newcomers as they seek primary care access; the challenges and opportunities experienced by health care providers as they strive to meet the needs of their Latino and immigrant patients; and the social determinants of healthy neighborhoods and communities. 

In order to successfully do this work, Dr. Smith has built successful and fruitful partnerships between UNC Charlotte, MAPPR and many organizations and members of the Charlotte Mecklenburg region, including but not limited to the Latin American Coalition, the Levine Museum of the New South, Carolinas HealthCare System, and key leaders in the populations with which she is working.

“Dr. Smith demonstrates that good scholarship does not have to take place in an ivory tower,” says Claire Schuch, a doctorate student in geography.  “I have learned much from her about building partnerships, establishing trust and empowering community members in the research process.”

In addition to her role at MAPPR, Dr. Smith is the director of the master’s and doctoral programs in Geography, Director of the Urban Studies minor, and a faculty research associate at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.  Congratulations Dr. Smith!

MAPPR Partners with Local High School and College Students

MAPPR Team members partnered with local high school and college students for a project entitled “Por Nuestros Ojos” (“Through Our Eyes”).  The project was based on PhotoVoice, which uses participatory photography to help underserved and marginalized communities share their experiences and document their reality. 

For this particular project, students from UNC-Charlotte were assembled with Hispanic high school students and challenged with capturing images on film that, in their view, represented issues and circumstances that either positively or negatively impacted their health and the health of their community.  The high school students were chosen from a youth-led advocacy group called “United 4 The Dream” (U4TD), which operates in collaboration with Latin American Coalition.   The Por Nuestros Ojos project was part of a larger study being conducted by MAPPR entitled “A Transdisciplinary Approach for the Evaluation of Social Determinants of Health”, which looks at cultural, environmental and other factors that contribute to the health of communities.

The research team took data collected from previous research to determine which communities seemed to be at highest risk for health-related disparities.  The youth underwent trainings before being sent into these communities with cameras.  The resulting images were then reviewed by the students, and the most representative photos were selected.  The students were asked to prepare a brief description of the image and how they felt it impacted health.  The final images and descriptions were exhibited at a PhotoVoice event at the Latin American Coalition. 

Issues cited as positively (+) or negatively (-) affecting health included:

·      Connectivity, or the lack thereof (sidewalks and dangerous crossings) (+/-)
·      Trash and lack of property maintenance (-)
·      Visible water and air pollution (-)
·      Local Women, Infant and Children offices/grocery stores/fire stations/schools (+)
·      Fast food restaurants/scam doctors (-)
·      Track/athletic courts/playgrounds (+/- depending on use and upkeep)

“Por Nuestros Ojos served to validate and supplement what some of our research had already determined,” says Claire Schuch, PhD Student at UNC-Charlotte and part of the MAPPR Research Team.  “It was also used to deepen and develop a more nuanced understanding of the communities, neighborhoods, and individuals at the heart of our research and intervention efforts.”

The project also served to give a voice to a group of traditionally unrepresented members of the Hispanic community: the youth.  Many of the participants expressed gratitude at the opportunity to participate in this project and to have their opinions be presented in such a public forum.

To read the full paper on Por Nuestros Ojos, please click HERE.

MAPPR Participates in the 2014 Practice-Based Research Network Conference

MAPPR Team members at the PBRN Conference in Bethesda, Maryland

MAPPR recently participated in the Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) Conference hosted by the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) in Bethesda, Maryland.  This 2-day conference allows leaders in research to network and present their strategies, methods and results to colleagues in the medical, education and research realms.  Topics such as Prevention, Chronic Disease Medicine, Health Disparities and Quality Improvement are discussed.

MAPPR team members presented a robust mix of lectures and posters, and were part of a panel discussion.   Research topics presented included:

Lessons Learned During Year 1 of a State-Wide PBRN Collaboration on Dissemination of a Shared Decision Making Toolkit (Poster)

Hazel Tapp, PhD; Jackie Halladay, MD; Paul Bray, MA

Shared Decision Making and Its Effects on Asthma Burden in the Underserved Ambulatory Care Setting (Poster)

Jay Patel, MD, MPH; Sveta Mohanan; Hazel Tapp, PhD

A Qualitative Study of Asthma Care Across the Charlotte Metro Area (Poster)

Lauren Mowrer, BA

Integrating Virtual Care Coordination within a Safety-Net Patient Centered Medical Home:  Lessons Learned (Poster)

Andrew McWilliams; John Emmerson

The Comparative Effectiveness of Asthma Interventions within an AHRQ PBRN:  Final Results (Poster)

Michael Dulin, MD, PhD; Lindsay Kuhn; Hazel Tapp, PhD

A Community-Based Participatory Approach to Connecting a Vulnerable Population to Primary Care and Social Services (Poster)

Andrew McWilliams; Yhenneko Taylor; Claire Schuch

Patient-Centered Engagement Across the Continuum:  Asthma Shared Decision Making Inpatient Pilot (Poster)

Kelly Reeves, BSN, RN; Hazel Tapp, PhD; Andy McWilliams, MD, MPH

Powering Up:  Lessons Learned from Project Collaborations Across Multiple PBRN Networks (Panel Discussion)

Hazel Tapp, PhD; Douglas Fernald, MA; Lyle Fagnan, MD

Planning for Action:  The Integration of an Electronic Asthma Action Plan Tool into Cerner at Carolinas HealthCare System

Lindsay Kuhn, MHS, PA-C; Michael Dulin, MD, PhD; Kelly Reeves, BSN, RN

To see the full schedule of presentations at the 2014 Practice Based Research Network Conference, click HERE.  To see the most up-to-date list of research conducted by MAPPR, please visit the Publications Page of our website.

Parent Group Learns Life Saving Skills

On Thursday June 12, a parent group assembled by MAPPR met with the Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Services Agency (MEDIC) to learn first aid skills.  More than 30 Hispanic community members, both adults and youth, attended the presentation.  The class covered the importance of cardio-pulminary resuscitation (CPR) and attendees were given the opportunity to practice the techniques needed to save the lives of adult, youth and infant victims. 

“CPR skills are something everyone should learn,” says MEDIC Community Engagement Coordinator Lester Oliva.  “Those skills can be lifesaving.”

According to the American Heart Association,  88 percent of cardiac arrests happen at home – so the life you save will most likely be a loved one.  Effective CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double or triple a victim’s chances of surviving. 

MEDIC offers both certification and non-certification classes to community members interested in learning these important techniques.  Classes are offered in English and in Spanish.  If you are interested in learning more about these classes, contact Lester Oliva at 704-943-6023 or by email at lestero@medic911.com.

The MAPPR parent group meets every other Wednesday from 5:30-7:30pm to discuss topics related to health and wellness.  If you are interested in learning more about the parent group and/or joining, contact Brisa Hernandez at 704-304-7123 or via email at Brisa.Hernandez@carolinashealthcare.org.

Research Team Hosts Community Wellness Fairs

Beginning in March and continuing through June, Mecklenburg Area Partnership for Primary Care Research (MAPPR) is hosting Community Wellness Fairs in the Huntingtowne Farms neighborhood of Charlotte.  MAPPR is a Practice Based Research Network designed to study barriers to healthcare access for the underserved and vulnerable populations in Charlotte.  Headquartered at the Department of Family Medicine in Carolinas Healthcare System (CHS),  MAPPR operates under the directorship of Michael Dulin, MD, PhD.

The Community Wellness Fairs serve two purposes – to engage patients in upcoming research projects, and to educate residents of the area about their own health and the resources available to them.  The fairs fall under the Transdisciplinary Approach to Social Determinants of Health study currently being undertaken by MAPPR to determine barriers to health care and social services, and take steps to improve community access and utilization of primary care and preventive services.  

"At the community wellness fairs we have the opportunity to offer  basic health screening and counseling, oftentimes to those with limited access to care," says Associate Director of Research Andrew McWilliams, MD, MPH.  "But perhaps most importantly, we are able to help individuals access existing health and social services."

As a part of the events, local organizations set up booths where they can promote their services and introduce themselves to the community.  Thus far, more than 20 organizations have participated, including affordable housing resource Socialserve.com.

“These fairs have given Socialserve.com a valuable opportunity to spread the word locally about our housing services,” says Socialserve.com Chief of Communications Beth Leysieffer.  “By participating in these events, we were able to share information directly with Charlotte residents as well as make important connections with other members of the supportive continuum.”

In addition to the fairs, research team is working with a group of 12 parents from the neighborhood school to develop a network for them to increase access to information about health and social services and build capacity for them to share the information in their neighborhoods. Recently, CHS Medical Education Health Educator Allison Bickett presented to the parents about stress and how it relates to their physical health.

The fairs are being held the first Saturday of the month at Huntingtowne Farms Elementary School.  Interpreters are available for English/Spanish translation.  If you would like to learn more about the fairs or the parent network, please contact Brisa Hernandez at  Brisa.Hernandez@carolinashealthcare.org or call 704-304-7123. 

Fall Conferences and Presentations Keep MAPPR Busy Through Year End

(l-r) Mary Espinosa, Aidan Smith and Claire Schuch at the SouthEastern Division of the Association of American Geographers meeting

Fall 2013 proved to be a busy season for the team at Mecklenburg Area Partnership for Primary Care Research.  With numerous conferences and annual meetings happening during this time of the year, it was the perfect opportunity to present research findings to the health care and research community. 

Three presentations were given at November's North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting in Ottawa, Ontario:

        

      Impact of Shared-decision Making On Disease-specific Quality of Life for Asthma     Patients

      Tapp, H; Taylor, Y; Alkhazraji, T; Kuhn, L; Mowrer, L;  Reeves, K; Dulin, M

      Improved Outcomes for Patients With Asthma: Preliminary Results of a Shared Decision Making  Intervention

      Kuhn, L; Tapp, H; Dulin, M; Alkhazraji, T; Taylor, Y; Reeves, K; Steuerwald, M; Mowrer, L

      Community-based Approach to Improving Primary Care Access In a Vulnerable Hispanic Neighborhood: Results From an Initial Cohort

      McWilliams, A; Urquieta de Hernandez, B; Smith, H; Sorensen, J; Coffman, M; Simmons, L; Tapp, H; Ludden, T; Taylor, Y; Dulin, M

      A month earlier, Brisa Hernandez and Maren Coffman presented Community-Driven Health Interventions - Designing a Neighborhood Health and Wellness Fair to Decrease Health Disparities at the Communities Joined in Action Annual Conference in Charlotte, NC.

  The SouthEastern Division of the Association of American Geographers met in Roanoke, Virginia and were treated to Engaging Students in Transdisciplinary Health Care Research by Mary Espinosa, Aidan Smith, Claire Schuch and Brisa Urquieta de Hernandez.  

"Conferences like this are a great opportunity to learn about the wide variety of research topics that georgraphers are investigating," says presenter and MAPPR Research Assistant Mary Espinosa.  "It's also great to be able to present the work that we do here and to teach others about the importance of our work and its impact on students and their future."

You can find research posters and presentations as they become available on our MAPPR website.