Advocating for individuals and communities

The role of advocating for individuals and communities not only includes advocating for the basic needs and resources of communities and entails conducting policy advocacy. This chapter provides two accounts of how CHWs provide advocacy and advocate for their profession. CHWs in Arizona advocated for their communities and their workforce on the state, local, and federal level to address the social determinants of health and structural issues such as poverty, unemployment, the built environment, and discrimination. The first team explores stories of CHWs who have advocated on multiple levels, including organizational and policy levels, and discusses the factors that support and hinder CHW advocacy efforts. The team describes how local and grassroots advocacy efforts ultimately helped to create a CHW workforce sustainability movement and support the statewide CHW professional association, Arizona Community Health Workers Association (AzCHOW), in advocating for voluntary certification on the state level. The second team provides timely information on how CHWs with Enlace Chicago advocated for their communities during COVID-19 to address social determinants of health, including poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and exploitation of worker rights, and provide basic needs. The CHW stories describe how advocacy efforts were instrumental in directing community members to food banks, personal protection equipment, sources of employment and workers' rights, and emergency rental assistance programs. These stories underscore how CHWs were often the only links connecting their community members to what they needed while facilitating the community's understanding to public health guidelines during COVID-19 and addressing mental health needs. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.

COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation: Experiences of Dine Families of Children with Asthma

BACKGROUND: Approximately 173,000 persons live on the Navajo Nation (NN) and 14.7% live in multi-generational households. One-third of the Nation's residents are children and 44% live in poverty. The median household income is $27,389 with 1/3 having incomes < $15,000/year. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 on the NN was identified March 17, 2020. The Navajo government took swift action to combat COVID-19 by declaring a public health state of emergency which established the Navajo Department of Health Command Operations Center, closed the government offices except for essential employees, ceased inperson classroom instruction for all schools located within the borders of the NN and issued travel restriction for governmental employees. Even with strong public health efforts, Navajo Nation saw the highest per capita infection rate in the US during May of 2020 with 2450/100,000 versus New York 2119/100,000. METHODS: The Community Asthma Program is an NHLBI funded program working to improve health outcomes for children with asthma on the NN. We sought to determine the impact of COVID- 19 on the families of children with asthma who were participating in our study. RESULTS: Sixty-six of 193 families (34%) were interviewed about their pandemic experience. The average age of the child with asthma was 13.5 (SD=3.9) and 33% were female. On average, 5.2 people lived in each house (SD=2.1). Results of the interviews are shown in the table. Our data indicate that most Diné children with asthma in our study did not contract COVID-19. However, the pandemic had a significant impact on them and their families. Many family members contracted COVID-19, some children lost family members, and half of interviewed parents reported a decline in their child's mental health. Responses suggest that Navajo families may have been less able to work remotely than the US population at large, perhaps increasing stress for families. Despite the trauma from COVID-19, families adopted strategies to cope with the pandemic. Most diligently followed health guidelines including washing hands, wearing masks, and social distancing. One in four families sought the help of a traditional healer. Many accessed medical care through telehealth and most were able to obtain asthma medications when needed. More recently, as the pandemic subsides, parents indicate that their outlook and mental health have significantly improved. CONCLUSION. Despite significant challenges, our research indicated resilience among Navajo families and we heard stories of positive community structures and relationships that are particular to the Diné culture. (Figure Presented).

Yes, We Can (?) - A Critical Review of the COVID-19 Semester

The COVID-19 crisis has caused an extreme situation for higher education institutions around the world, where exclusively virtual teaching and learning has become obligatory rather than an additional supporting feature. This has created opportunities to explore the potential and limitations of virtual learning formats. This paper presents four theses on virtual classroom teaching and learning that are discussed critically. We use existing theoretical insights extended by empirical evidence from a survey of more than 850 students on acceptance, expectations, and attitudes regarding the positive and negative aspects of virtual teaching. The survey responses were gathered from students at different universities during the first completely digital semester (Spring-Summer 2020) in Germany. We discuss similarities and differences between the subjects being studied and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of virtual teaching and learning. Against the background of existing theory and the gathered data, we emphasize the importance of social interaction, the combination of different learning formats, and thus context-sensitive hybrid learning as the learning form of the future. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.